


5 Times Tony Had To Have An Emotional Talk

by aanahitt



Series: Venom/MCU verse [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Field Trip, Multi, Other, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Twitter, venom meets the Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-09 05:48:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18632074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aanahitt/pseuds/aanahitt
Summary: And one time he got to just burn the shit out of the problem.Venom has adjusted over the last two months to living and working with the Avengers, while sharing as little as possible about V's past. A series of nightmares might shatter their new found stability.





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyy! So here is my sequel. :) it's a little more serious, but only slightly, I promise. Still very Venom centric. Also, I am posting with it only slightly over halfway done, so I might need to add more tags as we go.

"Wait, what happened in Budapest?"

Clint looked at Nat and they both grinned. "Don't worry about it."

Venom scowled. "Come on!"

Clint shook his head and took a sip of his beer. No way was that story ever coming out.

"It's done and over, Venom. No one else who was there is alive, so it'll stay buried even to you," Nat said.

Venom groaned.

"They wouldn't tell me either," Bucky consoled. "I sometimes think they made it up just to mess with us."

"Would serve you right too," Clint added. "Especially Venom. There is _still_  glitter in my room."

Venom chuckled, nursing their hot chocolate. Apparently they couldn't get drunk, and V didn't like the taste of alcohol.

"That was pretty great."

"I can't show anyone my room!"

"Bet your kids loved it when you came home glittering," Nat said with a grin of her own. "Too bad Pepper outlawed pranks. I was incredibly entertained."

"It was Venom's fault!" Clint defended as the others laughed.

"We thought it would have been worse if they were alive!" Venom protested, causing another round of laughter.

The final straw for Pepper had been waking to find a basket of dead rats by her bed. It had really been aimed at Tony, who'd helped Clint dye the Spiderling's webs a bright pink, but well, the two shared a bed. Peter had recruited Venom, and well...

"Ok, but here's the real question," Bucky said, gesturing with his own beer. "We've all been sharing stories. Did you get up to anything without V, or vice versa?"

Venom's smile lessened. "Eh, I like to think I wasn't this crazy before I got infected with an alien." The man winced afterward, a pretty good indication said alien wasn't happy with the word choice.

"That is a flat out lie," Nat said. "I know for a fact the Life Foundation was by far not the first place you broke into."

Venom laughed. "Well... maybe..."

"Like where?" Clint asked, glancing between them.

Venom shrugged. "Life of a journalist, you know? I'm not a cop, I can get my information any way I want. They could sue me afterward if they wanted, it's not like I ever have any money."

Clint chuckled and even Bucky grinned a little.

"I think technically I have money," Bucky pointed out. "I'm not totally sure, I didn't actually process it myself, but I got some kind of payout as a veteran or something."

"God, I wish I got a payout," Nat complained. "All I got was being stuck with you guys."

"Ok, ignoring these children," Clint said, earning a scoff from all of them. "I still want to hear a good story from Venom."

The alien duo sighed and stretched. "Well, there was my trip to China, I guess, was a pretty good one. But really, it pales in comparison to fighting aliens and all that."

"Tell it anyway! We'll laugh at how mundane it is if anything."

Venom shrugged. "Alright. So, I get to China because I get a call from a contact of mine in the area about, wait for it, underground fucking pyramids."

"What?" Bucky asked.

Venom nodded. "Apparently, according to her, the government was hiding ancient pyramid sites under forest canopy to stop... fuck, what was it? Something about lay lines and earth's energy field."

"Holy fuck, how many drugs was she on?"

"We'll get to that." V exuded a tendril to rest on Venom's shoulder, and Eddie reached up to stroke it. "So I get over there because I don't usually hear this kind of shit from her, so I figure something is going on, even if she misinterpreted it. But also, the Avengers are a thing, so maybe, for all I know, there _are_  government controlled underground pyramids using the Earth's lay lines to provide power."

"I mean, that's kind of fair," Clint pointed out.

"And obviously aliens do exist," Nat added. "So skeptical but curious, you decided to check it out."

"Exactly." He paused. "Long story short, I get there and after a week or so, things start to get really weird? And I start to get super paranoid, like I feel someone knows I'm investigating, and they're going to kill me, you know, I see people following me."

"What happened?" Clint asked, leaning forward.

Venom grinned. "Ergot. There was an outbreak of ergot in the food stores in the area."

Everyone groaned and fell back except for Bucky, who looked confused.

"Ergot?"

Venom chuckled. "It's a fungus that grows on shit like wheat and rye. Causes hallucinations and paranoia. They think it caused the Salem witch trials."

"Oh my god," Clint shook his head. "I can't believe you were brought down by a fungus."

"Too bad about the pyramids..."

"What are you guys still doing up?"

Everyone turned to find Tony wandering in the living room, looking like he hadn't gone to bed yet.

"Woah! Spy party. You're not invited," Clint grinned up at the man.

"Hilarious, Legolas. Go to bed."

"You're one to talk."

"Hey!" Rhodey entered the room and looked them all over with disappointment. "I just got Tony out of the lab, now I have to get all of you off your asses too? It's four in the fucking morning!"

"This is why you're not invited to parties," Nat muttered.

"I don't actually _have_  to sleep that much," Bucky pointed out.

"I don't want to hear your self destructive asses defending this," Rhodey snapped, pushing Tony towards his room. " _Get. To. Bed._ "

Clint sighed and took his hearing aids out. "Guess the party's over now Mama Rhodes is here." Rhodey's answer was a vague blur of sound, but he could guess the other man's emotions. Still, as long as he didn't look at him, he could pretend not to know what was going on as they all got up.

Venom waved a black tendril at them, then signed,  _Wish we ignore him you._

Clint chuckled, both at the statement and the childish manner of the sign language. Didn't mean he wasn't touched they'd learned it at all.  _Enjoy your hearing, V._ He shook the letter next to his head, mimicing half the sign for 'alien'. 

Venom beamed at the nickname, and Clint had to smile back.

 

***

 

_It's cold. Ice on the cobbled road, in the lakes and over the valleys. Snow in front of their eyes. Wind howling as it winds through the open field, crashing against the walls of the fortress._

_Inside, there's yells in a foreign language that's impossible to understand, but somehow, standing outside, they hear the screams. They're the screams of a people who know they are about to die._

_They hit the doors, wood straining against the metal bars that keep it in place. The second hit causes splinters and ever more yells. Their mouth waters at the smell of fresh meat, so close._

_Tired of brute force, they dig their way through the new breaks in the wood, gripping the pieces and pulling them out of the frame. Heat wafts out of the enclosure; a dying gasp of a doomed race._

_Metal trinkets and wooden toys beat against them, but there is no hope for these, even covered in their metal casings. They will consume. They will be fed. The light of this world must end._

**ღმერთი მოდის**

Eddie sat up with a gasp, clutching at his chest. At first he wasn't totally sure what the odd emptiness was, before he noticed the tendrils leading off him and into the corner of the room. He fumbled for his phone and turned on the flashlight.

"V? Are you alright?"

The symbiote shrank from the light and Eddie took a breath before getting up.

"It's just a nightmare, love. Just another nightmare."

" **It's more than that** "

Eddie got close enough to stroke the quivering mass, trying to urge his symbiote back under his skin. "It's ok. It doesn't mean anything."

" **LIAR** "

Eddie sighed. He hadn't known V could even _have_  dreams until the nightmares started. Now... they were constant. They'd started to avoid going to bed, at least as much as they could while being around the rest of the group.

"Come on, V. We're awake now. Let's go grab something to eat and calm down."

" **Something is WRONG Eddie** "

Eddie stroked V gently. "I know."

 

***

 

_"Boss, I have noticed a disturbing trend."_

Tony groaned at the artificial voice. "Not now, FRIDAY, I'm trying to sleep."

_"I'm afraid it is an urgent matter."_

"Just go deal with it," Pepper muttered, half asleep.

Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes. "What is so fucking important?"

_"Venom has made it a habit to wake extremely early and retire extremely late. My scan suggests they are suffering sleep deprivation. They cannot have gotten more than two hours of sleep tonight."_

Tony closed his eyes. Why was this his problem? Why couldn't someone else deal with this kind of stuff? He hadn't exactly gotten any more sleep than that.

Pepper pushed him. "Go take care of your alien."

Tony groaned but did as he was ordered, checking the time.

Six. Two hours of sleep indeed.

He quietly dressed and shot Pepper an envious look she couldn't see, considering she had quickly fallen back to sleep. Tony pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and was rewarded with a sleepy smile before he left the room.

Alright then. Upstairs to the common living room.

He exited the elevator to find Venom standing at the floor to ceiling window, silently watching the first rays of sunlight break into the sky. They didn't turn when Tony approached.

He stood there at their side silently for a few moments.

"Want to tell me what I'm doing up here?" Tony asked when the first sliver of the sun appeared above the horizon.

Venom looked at him. "Did FRIDAY call you?"

"She sees all and knows all." They sighed and looked out again, and together the two silently watched as the sun crept completely over the horizon.

"We've been having nightmares," Venom finally said.

Tony nodded. "I'm not surprised. Pretty much all of us have or do."

Venom nodded again.

"Have you considered sleeping pills? Just to get a full night's sleep for once."

"No. I don't like to mess with drugs, they can interact weird with V and I don't want to risk it."

Tony noted the 'I'. It was a rare occasion when it came out, and usually only if V was manifesting - which had been very weird to get used to. "What are the nightmares about? Sometimes talking about it helps... even I talk to Pepper."

Venom didn't respond, staring at the city below them. Tony wondered if they even saw it. Why did this fall to him? He was probably the worst equipped for this.

"You know, I have pretty bad nightmares sometimes. About the wormhole for example. Where I'm too late and the nuke explodes with me right there. Kept me up too for a while."

"I'm sorry."

Tony shrugged. "It's part of the hero business."

"This isn't."

"Personal nightmares?"

Venom shrugged. "Not mine. V's. I don't even fully get it half the time."

"Ah... is he... ok?"

Venom shrugged again.

"You know, Bruce would love to help you."

"We know." Venom gave him a small smile. "If it gets really bad... we'll talk to him."

Tony nodded. That was likely all he would get from them. They tended to be secretive, especially about all things V.

They stood there a while longer, until Tony could hear the sounds of people waking. A glance at his watch told him it was seven o' five.

"Want some hot chocolate for breakfast?" Tony asked.

Venom looked at him, almost startled that he was still there. Tony assumed they'd been talking to each other, but it was still rare the two weren't aware of their surroundings.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Venom followed Tony into the kitchen and they quietly prepped breakfast: Tony set the coffee while Venom cooked chocolate chip pancakes.

"Oh, Peter's field trip is coming up," Tony said with a grin. He'd been way too amused when the kid's decathlon club had put in the request, and he'd obviously automatically accepted. "I'm sure he'll be blown away by the tour."

Venom grinned, and they seemed to come back to normal. Probably just enjoying ignoring the issue. "Oh yeah. Friday. He's been complaining to us ever since he found out."

"What? Why would he complain?"

"Because as soon as he gets through the door everyone who's here will do their level best to embarass him?"

Tony chuckled. "It's only our right."

Venom rolled their eyes. "Clint's planning to follow them through the vent system. Nat said she was going to make him show off his fighting skills in the gym."

"A little training with an Avenger is an honored part of the tour."

"And don't forget how devastated Rhodey's going to act when the kid refuses to call him 'Uncle Rhodey' in public." Venom looked amused.

"He's our intern. We don't get to embarass anyone else."

"Yourselves? On a regular basis?"

"You can't be embarassed if you have no shame."

Venom shook his head. "Poor kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I hope you all enjoy this one as much as the other. Kudos if you know the plot I'm using (though it will play out very differently, believe me).
> 
> Leave a comment to tell me your thoughts!
> 
> Edit 5/2/19: actually translated the Georgian. I know, the ancient language wouldn't be georgian, but I'd rather honor the alphabet I'm using. And if you speak Georgian, wooo! 
> 
> And no Endgame spoilers, please! This would be a weird place for them, but just in case. :P


	2. Bullies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter goes on a field trip to Stark Industries with his class.

Peter sighed, settling in the back of the bus.

Stupid field trip.

Not even counting how much of a dick Flash had been in the week leading up to it, he just knew the Avengers were going to take every opportunity to embarrass him. Venom had confirmed they had firm plans to do so. This wasn't paranoia.

"Doing alright, Peter?" Ned asked.

Peter shrugged. "I just have to live through this, that's all. And then it'll be over."

"Should you even be coming, Penis?" Flash asked with a sneer. "Since you go to Stark Tower all the time anyway?"

"Flash, don't speak unless you can improve the silence," MJ said, sitting down next to Peter and Ned. She pulled out her sketchbook like Flash's presence was a non-issue.

Flash sent her a glare but settled in his seat.

"He won't bother you once he finds out it's real," Ned said.

"He'll find something else to bother me about," Peter said, feeling a little more realistic.

"Well, probably, but -" Ned cut off as all their phones vibrated.

Peter pulled his out and MJ leaned over to check what had arrived to their texting group.

_Real Life Alien:_  Who's your favorite avenger?

Peter exchanged a confused glance with the other two.

_Peter:_  thor?

_Real Life Alien:_  ok

_Real Life Alien:_  Who manufactored a fake emergency so the Avengers will be busy in meetings all day instead of embarrassing you on your field trip?

"Can they do that?" Ned asked.

_Peter:_ wait are you serious?

_Real Life Alien:_  Kind of wish I wasn't because we're stuck in them ourselves.

"Oh my god." Peter looked up. "I'd like to thank not only god, but the universe in general for delivering me."

"Wait, what about the whole training with Black Widow thing?" MJ asked. She pulled out her phone and messaged the group.

_MJ <3: _does that mean no training with an Avenger?

"They better have a way for that to happen," she muttered.

"I'm sure someone will find some time to do it," Peter assured. "It's only half an hour."

_Real Life Alien:_  shit. I'll excuse myself to do it.

_MJ <3:_ do you have any actual fighting skills?

_Real Life Alien:_  Ha. Like anyone could stay here without being drilled by Natasha. We can totally teach a half hour lesson to beginners.

_Real Life Alien:_ And we'll get out of pretending to take this seriously.

Ned sighed. "This trip could have been so great for everyone, I was expecting to see _all_ the Avengers, but now..."

"Hey, they get to meet an alien, they'll be fine," MJ pointed out.

_Real Life Alien:_ So who's your favorite avenger?

_Peter:_ still thor, tbh

_MJ <3:_ definitely Black Widow

_Obi Wan KeNedi:_  I've always leaned toward Dr. Banner

_Real Life Alien:_  ...

_Real Life Alien:_ You guys suck.

 

***

 

Ned looked around the tower with awe as they entered. Sure, he'd been in before, but still! They were _in Stark Tower_! This was where the science happened, not to mention all the Avenger stuff.

His hand clenched around his pass as he followed the group to the lobby area.

"Hello, everyone." A neat looking lady came over to greet their group and shake Mr. Harrington's hand. "Everyone made it?"

"Yes, the entire team."

"Perfect. Alright, pay attention. I am your tour guide, Emily. Everyone here will get a pass, unless you have one of your own. Your passes are visitor level, which means that you are cleared to enter any room that I will be in. Photography is not allowed. You'll have chances to talk with the workers here, but mostly I'll be the one answering your questions."

She went around to pass one out to everyone, pausing at the end in front of the three of them. "You three have your passes?"

"Oh, yeah!" Peter started rummaging through his pockets.

"Here!" Ned blushed as his voice cracked, holding up his pass.

"Got it." Peter pulled his out and affixed it to his shirt.

MJ attached hers calmly.

"Perfect." Emily smiled and went back to the front of the group. Ned could feel everyone's eyes on them, and he fidgeted with his pass.

"I thought only Peter had an internship," Flash said.

Emily nodded. "That is correct, but as his friends have come to Stark Tower before, they recieved their own badges. We do our best not to reprint. Now if you walk through the gate, FRIDAY, our resident AI, will scan your pass and admit you. Like so."

Emily walked through the gate and the little light above the metal arch shone green and FRIDAY announced, _"Emily Goodman, access: intern."_

The class exchanged excited looks and everyone scanned themselves through, being greeted as "visitors". Ned fidgeted before walking through, feeling everyone's eyes on him.

_"Ned Leeds, access: friend."_

Ned beamed as he did every time. FRIDAY _knew_  him. So cool.

"What kind of access is that?" Flash snapped, clearly searching for any excuse to find something wrong with them.

"It's for friends and family of high level workers," MJ said flatly as she walked through, getting the same greeting.

Peter followed her through, looking incredibly nervous.

_"Hello, Peter. Welcome back. Shall I notify the boss of your arrival?"_  FRIDAY asked warmly.

Peter blushed. "Please don't. I'm sure he knows already."

"Perfect," Emily said, bringing attention back to her from everyone's ogling of Peter. "Let's go through the R&D labs. These are a favorite."

"Wait! Why doesn't Peter have the intern access?" Flash asked.

"Peter is Tony Stark's personal intern, and as such has a different access level. Are there any other questions, or do we want to start the tour?"

Flash looked like he was about to say something else, but Cindy elbowed him.

"Let's start the tour!"

 

***

 

"Is this the tour group?"

The adults in the cafeteria looked at Venom with confusion. After a few seconds one of them hesitantly said, "No?"

They sighed. "Do you know where they are?"

The people in the room kind of looked between each other, and Eddie got the sense no one had any idea.

"Fuck," he muttered as he left another cafeteria. They took a bite from their chocolate bar in annoyance, V swirling distractedly around their organs. "What level are they on?"

**You should have asked the tinman before leaving**

_Yes, I get it. Thank you, V._

Eddie pulled out his phone, but he hadn't received a response from anyone yet.

**Ceiling lady** V input suddenly. **ask the ceiling lady**

Eddie facepalmed. "We're obviously running on two braincells, today. Must be the meetings. FRIDAY? Where is Peter's tour group?"

_"In the cafeteria a level below this one, Mr. Venom."_

**Idiot**

"Thank you!"

They hurried back to the stairwell and Eddie followed V's urging to **jump** , partly to get the restless energy out.

They caught hold of the railing for the lower floor and pulled themselves onto the landing, then hurried through the door to find the cafeteria.

They skidded to a halt in the doorway.

"Midtown?"

They knew it was right already, seeing their pets at a table. V calmed a little at the sight of them.

"Yes?"

They looked at the intern and flashed a smile. "Hey. We're here to do the Avengers gym part of the tour. With the... taking the kids up there and showing them around." He pulled out their badge.

"Oh! Um, they're still having lunch and then we usually tour the museum first... we can go to the gym first, though -"

"Oh, no worries. We'll follow along. The longer we're here, the less we have to be in meetings."

An older man - probably a teacher - got up and came towards them.

**Rip him apart**

_Calm down, V,_  Eddie urged. His other's bloodlust had been growing since the nightmares started, but for now everything seemed to be under control. Same thing as usual, just more obvious.

"So you are -"

"Hey Venom!" Ned waved excitedly from his table as Peter hit his head against it. They waved back, pleased.

"Hey Ned! Peter, MJ."

"Hey," MJ said conversationally.

"You know each other?" The teacher asked looking between them.

There was a grumble from V, but it was relatively muted. Eddie smiled in relief. "Yeah. Helped us steal a jet a while back. It's ok, it was a prank," he assured. "And it got Tony to finally update his security. So win-win. You're the teacher?"

"Mr. Harrington." They shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you. We're Venom."

**It's not nice**

_It's called being polite._

"So we don't get to see an Avenger?" one of the kids asked.

**Scare her**

Eddie grinned. "It's your lucky day, kid. We _are_  an Avenger."

"We?" Harrington asked.

"Don't worry about it."

"Well I haven't heard of you," another kid scoffed.

V rose over his eyes, smiling widely in that way of his. " **What makes you think you should have** "

The kid paled and a surge of satisfaction coursed through them. V retreated beneath his skin.

"What are your powers?" the first kid asked, excited now. "How did -"

"Kid," they cut her off. "We don't do Q&A. We're not a spectacle."

The kids all looked disappointed, then someone glanced at Peter, who sighed.

"Well I'm not going to for them. Hey, Venom."

The intern cleared her throat. "Well, if we're all done here, we can get to the museum."

The kids packed up their lunches and got up. Venom hung back to walk with their pets, ignoring the people watching them and whispering.

"Enjoying the tour?"

"Yeah, actually," Peter said. "Since I wasn't worried about anyone bothering me."

"It's so cool!" Ned said excitedly, then launched into a recount of everywhere they'd been. Eddie smiled and nodded, feeling both of them calm under the interaction. This was good. They quieted once they reached the elevator and the intern began to introduce the museum.

"So the fake emergency is holding up so far?" MJ asked when the intern paused.

Venom nodded. "To be fair, it's a very well constructed fake emergency."

"Why'd you fake an emergency?" This was one of the kids that hadn't spoken yet.

"We have a prank war going on," they lied easily.

Peter tsked. "Mrs. Potts is going to be pissed."

"Yeah... probably. She was pretty pissed about the last one."

"What'd you do last time?" a kid asked.

"Left a basket of dead rats by Tony's bed," MJ said flatly, drawing in her sketchbook. "I remember hearing about it."

"Ew!"

Venom chuckled. "It was pretty funny. We heard him squealing from our room."

"Alright, we're here," the tour guide said.

The group followed her to the center of the museum. There were stands about every Avenger (almost) around the walls with short explanations about the artifacts. Everyone looked around excitedly.

"So we'll have a good half hour to explore, and then we'll gather back here to go to the Avengers gym with Venom."

The kids nodded and began to wander off, Peter excitedly exploring the Spider-Man exhibit. Venom hung out and finished their chocolate bar.

"So, uh, Mr. Venom -"

"Just Venom," they interrupted the teacher. V stirred beneath his skin.

"Right. Well, you - you don't seem to have an exhibit here."

"Ha. No, we wouldn't. We don't use any tech, pretty much."

"I see."

"Have you been on any missions?"

They looked over to see another kid, who apparently found them more exciting than the exhibits.

"Yeah, of course."

"Which ones?"

Venom sighed. "What did I say? This isn't an interview. Go look at the exhibits."

"But you're an _actual_  Avenger and this is all just _stuff_."

"Well the stuff actually has information on it, so you'll get more use out of it."

The kid crossed her arms. "Is that an ankle tracker? Like for criminals?"

Eddie rolled his eyes.

**Scare her**

_Would be funny._

"That's really none -"

**Peter**

Eddie blinked, feeling V take over. When he opened his eyes he had the first annoying kid in a black tendril, holding him up. Eddie blinked again before he realized that things weren't blurry; he was just seeing them through a haze of red.

**tear him apart**

_V, no. He's a kid._

**Hurt our pet, tear off his jaw, bite off his tongue**

_V, no._

**Open his chest and drAG OUT HIS INSIDES**

_V..._

**GOUGE OUT HIS -**

Eddie gasped as he felt someone against him. They looked down to find the Spiderling hugging them. Tightly. He took a breath.

_V, calm down._

**Tear him open**

"It's ok, Mr. Venom, nothing happened, it's ok, put him down, I'm ok..." The litany reached his ears and Eddie wondered how long they'd been standing there. He took another breath.

_It's ok. We're ok, V._

The red leeched out of his vision.

They set the kid down.

Peter breathed out a sigh of relief.

" **Don't touch him** "

The kid nodded frantically.

V twined around his arm, then extended tendrils around Peter. Peter looked up at them.

"Your eyes went red," he whispered.

Eddie swallowed. "Right," he said just as quietly. "Later."

He forced them to step back from Peter and V pulled back under his skin.

"We don't tolerate bullying in the Tower," Eddie said firmly, and hoped he hadn't completely scared everyone here.

Pepper was going to be _so_  pissed.

 

***

 

"And this is the gym." Eddie gestured to it. It was a huge thing, large enough that everyone could practice at the same time. "Usually there'd be someone here at this time of day, but it's pretty empty right now."

"Because of your fake crisis?" MJ asked.

Most of the students had stopped bothering them after the Flash incident, as Venom had found out the boy was called, but they didn't seem totally cowed. Peter stayed close to them anyway, clearly intuiting that he'd been the reason they'd calmed down.

"Yeah, exactly."

"Fake crisis?" came a new voice from the other side of the gym. They looked over to find Natasha standing against a punching bag.

"Oh..."

Nat smiled and waved to the students who began to whisper excitedly among themselves. She came over and put her arm around Venom's shoulders. "You two wasted _so_  much of our time."

Venom chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, well... how'd you figure it out?"

"We know _you_."

"You never pass up the chance to be in meetings." This came from above and Clint backflipped into the room. There were more appreciative murmurs as

Venom rolled their eyes at the drama.

"So we had FRIDAY spy on you."

"Traitor," Venom muttered.

Natasha smiled evilly at him, then turned to the group. "Who here has met an alien before?"

Peter, Ned, and MJ raised their hands.

"Well, now you all can say you have." Nat patted their shoulder. "You all get a once in a lifetime opportunity for a Q&A with our resident alien human duo."

Venom stared at her in shock, then looked plaintively at Clint.

He shook his head. "Do the crime, do the time, Predator."

"Keep a close watch on your arrows, Katniss."

"I keep them in my room now, thank you very much."

Venom scowled at him.

"You're an alien?" a girl asked.

Eddie looked at Nat and saw no mercy. He sighed. "Yes, partly. I - the human part - host V, my symbiote."

"That's why you use 'we'!"

A kid raised his hand. "What planet are you from? The alien part."

"V is from Klyntar."

"Where's Klyntar?"

"Andromeda. Wait, how long are we doing this?"

"At least ten minutes," Nat said. "Don't try to weasel out of it. PR, remember?" "I hate you sometimes." She smiled, then turned to the group. "Who has another question?"

Hands went up.

Their pets just looked incredibly amused.

Traitors.

"What super powers do you have?"

"We're stronger and faster than normal people, and we heal super fast," He said, falling back on what they'd told they UN.

"How long have you been an Avenger?"

"About two months."

"You can digest earth food despite being an alien?"

"We can digest pretty much anything."

"How strong are you?"

"We never tested it."

"Does V have DNA?"

"We never tested that either, but probably not."

"V is conscious?"

" **We are** "

"Oooh." The class looked excited.

"Can we talk to V directly for this Q&A?" MJ asked.

"Not today. He's agitated," Eddie explained, because MJ always enjoyed talking to a manifested V.

"Thanks a lot, Flash," one of the boys muttered.

Flash gave the boy a dirty look, but stayed quiet as he had since the incident.

"Are there a lot of alien species in space?" MJ asked.

"Uh... yeah, actually. Life's pretty common in the universe."

"What's Klyntar like?"

Eddie sighed. "It's an artificial world created by the symbiotes."

"Where do the symbiotes come from?"

"Space."

"You're not going to get anything else about Klyntar," Peter complained. "That's all they tell _anyone_."

Eddie smiled sheepishly. "We're private people."

"How did V get to Earth?"

"He got picked up from an asteroid by the Life Foundation to be part of some shady tests."

"Was he there alone?"

"Nope. But the others that were brought back are dead."

"So there's no other symbiotes on Earth?"

His smile wavered. "Not as far as we know."

"Alright, one last question," Nat said. "Then I'll let these two sneak out of the spotlight and Clint and I will teach you some self defense."

Everyone put their hand up and Nat choose one.

"How old is V?"

"Uh, several hundred of our years. We'll leave you in Nat's care."

"Don't go far," Nat warned. "Tony still wants to talk to you about today." She turned to the class and smiled. "Peter. Why don't you come up here and help me demonstrate?"

 

***

 

Tony smiled as he entered the gym. The tour was just finishing up and luckily, he still had time to go bother Peter. The teens stared at him as he walked in and waved, while Venom scowled at him from their spot on the edge of the gym playing with their phone. Peter was practicing nearby.

"Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a great tour."

"It's been exciting," MJ said cooly.

"Great. Emily will walk you guys out, I just wanted to grab Peter, come here kiddo."

"Oh," the teacher looked concerned. "I can't just leave Peter here, he needs to -"

"Don't worry about it." Tony pulled an incredibly embarrassed Peter to his side. "He'd need to come back for the evening anyway, wouldn't you, Underoos?"

Peter blushed. "Yeah, I would."

Tony ruffled his hair. "Peter's one of our favorite interns here. Incredible mind, as I'm sure you all know. Last week he finished a robot that patched up holes in the walls that he was working on in his free time. Want to go get it and show people before they leave?"

"I really really wouldn't," Peter managed.

"Aww, come on."

"Mr. Stark! It's a stupid robot!" Peter's voice had risen a good deal. "No one wants to see it!"

Tony chuckled. "Well, anyway, it wouldn't make any sense to take him back to Midtown only for him to drive back here."

"Well... " the teacher looked around before nodding hesitantly. "Alright..."

"Great."

They waited until the tour guide had led everyone out of the gym, everyone staring at Peter where he was now pressed to Tony's side.

"So," Tony turned to Venom with Peter. Venom looked up from their phone nervously. "Want to explain why you went off on a kid? I don't have anything against scaring some asshole from bothering Peter, but it looked worse than that."

"Kid pushed Peter, we freaked a little," Venom said defensively as Clint and Nat came over to join the conversation. "That's all."

"Your eyes went red," Peter supplied.

Venom sent Peter a betrayed look.

"What? What does that mean?" Tony asked.

"Nothing!"

"You were ready to kill that kid," Nat said, tone unyielding. "Talk."

"Yeah, it wasn't even that bad, Flash usually does -" Peter shut up, but just late enough. Everyone turned to Peter.

"Ex- _cuse_ me? Has this kid been bothering you, Peter?"

"I find myself much  _less_ concerned all of the sudden," Nat said.

Peter coughed. "Venom went red! That's more urgent!"

Tony was ready to argue that, but Clint nodded and said, "Spill it, Venom so we can deal with the Flash problem."

"We _have_  dealt with the Flash problem," Venom growled.

"Have something to do with your nightmares?" Tony asked, eager to get this over with.

Venom crossed their arms and looked away.

"So it is."

"I have it under control."

"No you don't," Peter said. "Something's wrong with V."

Venom didn't look at them.

Tony took a breath. "Well, I'm going to make someone _really_  happy today. Inky, go see Bruce."

" _Tony!_ "

"No arguments." Tony sighed. "You know everything stays in this tower, just like any and all recordings of you fighting. You know that."

Venom looked to Nat who gave them a thin smile.

"I'll make sure they get there." She put a hand on their shoulder and led the defeated alien out of the room, muttering something about tinmen who didn't know their place. Clint followed, discreetly giving Tony and Peter space.

"So, Peter -"

"Can I go watch them test Venom?" Peter asked quickly.

"Not until we talk."

Peter scowled at the floor. "It's not important."

"Ok. How long has this kid been bothering you?"

He shrugged.

"We can stay here until the phD hoarder is done."

"A few years, that's -"

"A few _years_? What does he do?"

"He's just annoying," Peter said defensively. "It's not like he _does_ anything, he just calls me names and bothers me."

"Why didn't you tell me?" That was the part that hurt. Didn't Peter know that he was always there for him? That he had his back no matter how petty the problem?

Peter rubbed his arm and sighed. "Because I knew if I said anything you guys would overreact. I don't need the Avengers assembling to protect me from some idiot. You saw how V reacted."

"I can safely say most of us wouldn't try to kill him."

"Yeah, but you'd get close." Peter shrugged.

"And you didn't think you could talk to me about it?"

"Well, I -"

"Peter, look at me."

Peter looked up at him from his study of the gym.

Tony took a breath, feeling like this might be one of the most important talks he'd have with the kid. "I know you can handle a simple school bully. You've dealt with so much already. I know we can be... intense... but I promise, I won't fight your battles for you. I just want you to know that you can come to me if you have any problems. Even... even if it's just to vent about them. I'd rather know."

Peter chewed on his lip, then nodded. "I just thought... better me than someone else, you know?"

Tony pulled Peter into a hug. This kid. "I get it, Pete."

Peter hugged him back, hesitantly at first, then tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously this is me doing the field trip trope, but with plot! :))) speaking of the trope, I feel like people usually overdo Flash being a dick. Like, he's not going to make himself look stupid in public.
> 
> I'm honestly probably working on these more than my homework, so updating should be fairly regular.
> 
> Leave a comment! Tell me what you think is going on. ::)


	3. Super Soldiers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with everything that's happened. .

"I'm like ninety percent certain this isn't necessary."

"No, Mr. Venom, it totally is." Peter stood on tiptoe to peer over Bruce's shoulder, watching him ultrasound their chest, then peering up at the screen.

Venom squinted at their pet. "We don't really trust your judgement." They glanced at Nat who was making sure they didn't try to escape early. She and Bruce were the only two of the menagerie who had valid reasons to be there.

"I have no idea what any of this is meant to do," she supplied. "I'm not the one with seven phDs."

"I have two," Tony said, staring intensely at the screen. "But neither of them apply."

"Is that V?" Bucky pointed to the white mass around Eddie's bones.

"Yes," Bruce said slowly, moving the ultrasound around. "See how dense he is? He's completely reflecting."

"We're saving the ultrasound, right?" Wanda asked, looking up from the other scans on the table.

"It's recording," Bruce affirmed.

"We feel like a circus act," Eddie muttered. "Getting an even stronger urge to kill something."

Clint wordlessly held out a chocolate.

Eddie just sighed.

**Are they done**

_I have no idea. But if this can help -_

**It can't**

_You don't know that. Maybe this isn't from outside. Maybe this **is** some kind of imbalance._

V was silent for a few moments, before begrudgingly allowing **Maybe, but I would have felt it**

_Maybe, maybe not._

"This is my favorite." Wanda held up an x-ray of their brain. It wasn't the most useful, but it was quiet to take, and V's hair thin filaments could be seen throughout his whole brain, infinitely many connections.

"Well you can't put it up in your room," Eddie snapped. "Isn't that private?"

Wanda pouted. "We all share our medical problems with each other. These are things you need to know."

"Could you sit up?" Bruce asked.

Eddie sighed and sat up.

"Can V move a little? Does he move?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my god, look at that!" Peter pointed at the screen as V slithered around his organs. "That's so cool!"

"More like weird," Steve muttered.

"Do you _feel_  that?" Bucky asked curiously, arm around his boyfriend.

"Yeah?" Venom said.

"Weird."

"I'm used to it?"

"Oh, wait." Bruce facepalmed. "V, can you gather completely in his chest? I want to get an accurate measurement."

Eddie sighed, but V did as he was asked. Eddie could even feel V practically disconnect from his brain and he _hated_  it. He rubbed his wrist, unable to cross his arms over his chest.

"How does that feel?" Peter asked.

"Awful," Eddie snapped.

Everyone looked at him.

"I'm not used to not having him," Eddie gestured. "Everywhere."

"Like... separation anxiety?" Clint asked.

" _Yes_."

"I have it, he can relax," Bruce said, making some notes.

Eddie breathed out a sigh of relief as V rushed back into every inch of his flesh. "Are we done?"

"I'd really like to go over the dreams again." Bruce wiped the gel from their skin.

"We've already gone over them!"

"Once more."

Eddie groaned.

"Wait, important question," Tony interjected. "Just to gauge how serious this is. If push comes to shove, you *can* control V, right? We don't have to worry about him freaking out and trying to eat us?"

"Well..." Eddie shifted.

"I really don't like what I'm hearing. Or not hearing."

"Symbiote wins over host."

"So you can turn murderous at any point?" Steve confirmed.

"I - I guess. But it's not that big a deal! V having control isn't a _bad_  thing." He held up his hands placatingly. "It's not like he's usually murderous!"

"Venom -"

"This is sub culture right here," Peter muttered under his breath.

Eddie blushed as V cackled in his head.

"Peter!" Tony said.

Peter blushed. "It is though!"

"I'd like to try to get you two to sleep through the night," Bruce said loudly, trying his best to interrupt.

("How do you even know about that stuff?"

"I'm on the internet, Mr. Stark?")

"This could be simply sleep deprivation. I know Klyntar don't sleep, but you two psychically influence each other from what I understand. Just tell me again about the dreams, and then you are free until I decide the best way to try to knock you out."

Eddie sighed and closed his eyes. "We're somewhere on Earth. It's snowy and cold and there's a medieval looking fortress that we're going to destroy."

"And when you say 'we', is that you and V or?"

_V?_

**No, not us, not you**

"It's..."

**The hive**

"The hive. Not me," Eddie clarified.

Everyone stilled. Eddie could feel it.

"The hive?" Tony asked. "As in, other Klyntar? On earth?"

Eddie bit his lip. "Yes."

"What were they doing there?" Steve asked, following Tony's train of thought.

" **Destruction** "

"Wait -"

Bruce elbowed Tony. "So the hive is on Earth, about to destroy a fortress."

"Various fortresses. Sometimes people in fields, I don't know. We attack them, destroy everything, eat everyone. We're endlessly hungry. Then I hear... us speak. And I wake up."

"Do you recognize anything the people say?"

Eddie shook his head. "They're not speaking English."

"And what do you say? Do you ever remember it?"

"No. I don't understand it. It's in the old tongue."

"Old... Klyntar tongue?"

" _Yes_ , obviously."

"Can V understand?" Eddie paused.

"Venom," Tony said sternly. "You can't hide anything that could get someone hurt."

"They're just dreams," he said softly.

"What do you say?" Bruce asked.

" **God is coming** "

"God?"

" **He is the Klyntar's nightmare** "

"Who is he?"

Eddie clenched his jaw. "A nightmare."

"Eddie -"

"Can we go?"

"I thought you said there were no other Klyntar on Earth," Steve said.

"Yeah, there aren't!" V twined around Eddie's arm, the outward contact calming.

"That's not what your dreams suggest," Bucky said, also serious now.

"There _shouldn't be_. Look, it was a long time, ago, ok?" They scowled. " **They left** , they all _left_."

"Why? This planet wasn't destroyed. Sounds like that's the Klyntar M.O.," Steve added.

V tightened his hold on Eddie. He clenched his teeth and looked away. "It's... complicated."

"Venom, this could be a serious threat -"

"Well it's not, alright?" They stood up angrily. "It's ancient history! And if anyone had been left you would already know about it!"

Nat put a hand on Steve's shoulder, and nodded. "Go calm down, Venom."

Eddie grabbed the dismissal and hurried out of the room.

_Let's order a rabbit. Rabbits make us feel better._

**We could hunt**

_Not safe._

**We won't fail again**

_Better not to test that._

 

***

 

"Who else is concerned about this?" Steve asked once they'd sprinted out of the room.

Most everyone raised their hands.

"Dr. Banner, I'm pretty sure the latter half of the tests weren't needed," Peter said earnestly.

Bruce fidgeted with his notes. "Maybe not _immediately_  necessary..."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Happy?"

"Oh, immensely." Bruce picked up his bucket of samples and headed out of the room. "You guys can talk about ancient history, I need to analyze these."

"Can I come?" Peter asked, hopeful eyes on Bruce.

"Of course!"

"It may not be ancient history," Steve muttered as the two left together.

"You would know, seeing how you're practically as old," Tony quipped.

Bucky squeezed his boyfriend. "What bothers me is that V is terrified. I've never seen him even concerned."

They exchanged glances.

"You're right," Natasha said. "What could possibly scare a whole race?"

"'The Klyntar's nightmare'," Clint repeated. "Not a good sign."

Tony shrugged. "I'm concerned, but don't you think Venom's right? If there were another symbiote, we'd have heard of it. It'd be impossible for them not to mess up and get noticed in the past, what, millenia or more? I haven't heard of anything like Venom, have you?"

Steve frowned in concentration. "No. Not even HYDRA had anything like that."

Bucky nodded slowly. "I didn't hear or see anything."

"So we don't worry about it," Tony said.

"But we _should_  be concerned about what triggered the nightmares," Clint said, going dad-mode. "I think Bruce is right that V's acting weird because of sleep deprivation, but that doesn't solve the nightmare issue."

"Are we thinking magical, emotional, or environmental reasons?" Bucky asked.

Steve leaned into his boyfriend, a little less interested on this topic. Besides, it wasn't like he had any knowledge on the issue.

"I don't think they've been particularly upset lately," Clint said. "They've really settled in."

"I haven't felt anything magical," Wanda said, looking up from her study of the various scans. "I don't know anything about psych though, you're on your own." "It could be something you didn't feel,

Glinda," Tony said. "You only have one bandwidth."

"So call Loki."

"Funny. I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"Out of all the degrees in the tower, anyone have a psych degree?" Sam asked practically.

"Doesn't matter, we'd need a Klyntar psych degree," Nat pointed out.

"So we're effectively useless," Steve summarized. "But at least it was interesting."

 

***

 

"Tony!" Pepper stormed into the room. "Where is Venom?"

The group at the breakfast counter froze and stared at her.

She crossed her arms. "Well?"

"Sleeping?" Tony offered. "Or I would hope so?"

"Does anyone want to explain _this_?" She threw the magazine onto the table, open to the pertinent article, and the photo of Venom holding the teen bully. The headline read: **Secret Avengers with Dangerous Powers?**

"Oooh." Steve winced. "That's not good."

"'Are the Avengers keeping their most dangerous supers secret and what it means for society '," Tony read out loud. "Shit. Where'd they get the photo?"

"Has to be the intern," Bucky said. "No one else had photo privilege."

Tony cursed. "Look how the picture is taken. She must have asked FRIDAY for the image. FRIDAY?"

_"Yes, boss. The museum level is considered public access, so I provided the requested image."_

Tony cursed. "I'm firing her."

Pepper ran a hand through her hair. "You can't. It'll make this look worse. Go wake Venom, they need to be seen in public."

"I don't think we should be waking them, that was kind of the cause of... this," Tony said.

"Cause of what?" Venom entered the kitchen, yawning, clothes rumpled.

"Sleep well?" Bucky asked.

"We're _still_  sleeping," Venom grumbled, going to pour themselves chocolate milk.

"I need you to talk to the press," Pepper said flatly.

"What? Why? No."

"Because you _threatened_  a _teenager_ and now everyone knows it." Pepper pointed to the magazine. Venom came over with a frown.

"Shit."

"So -"

"Tony, you're good at press stuff."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "You _are_  press stuff."

"We've never been on the other side!"

" _You_  have to appear in public." Pepper put her foot down. "The Avengers make people uneasy and we stay in the public's good graces by being transparent. I'll schedule an interview for tomorrow and you can explain you're new and have been settling in and don't mention eating anyone."

"But... how much do we say?"

"The basics. Pretend you're talking to the UN, and don't exceed any boundaries."

"I can ask Peter to accompany you," Tony said. "If it'll help keep V calm."

"Please tell me the long night of sleep has helped," Pepper said, because an agitated V on camera would be even worse than no one meeting Venom.

Venom frowned, internally taking stock. "We're sluggish. I don't know, whatever Bruce gave us really knocked us out."

"Then he'll give it to you again tonight."

"What?"

"I'd rather you were sluggish than agitated. Tony, call Peter, I'll schedule an interview with a reporter that's generally pretty positive about the Avengers."

"Yes, Ma'am," Tony said.

Pepper smiled at the love in his eyes and pressed a kiss to his lips. "This isn't too bad, I think. And honestly, it's my fault for keeping you two so under wraps."

Venom shrugged. "I get it. We creep people out."

"For good reason," Steve pointed out.

"There is that."

"You're awake!" Bruce paused in the kitchen. "I had FRIDAY tell me when you got up. I wanted to ask you some questions."

Venom groaned and dropped their head onto the table. "Why me?"

Bucky shook his head. "Go get it out of the way. Even I had to be seen publicly. You do it once and then let everyone else deal with it for you."

"You should go out and have V visible," Tony said. "Like the black tendrils. So people can make the superhero connection."

"I disagree," Steve said. "Don't let them see V at all. The more human you look, the less people will be scared of you."

"If they don't see V at all, all they'll have of him is this." Tony gestured to the magazine and the threatening picture.

"Then have V be visible once. Doing something useful."

"What does the PR team think?" Bucky asked.

"Visible the way he is in day to day life. No overt shows or anything," Pepper said. "Don't do the eye or voice thing."

"Definitely not those," Steve agreed.

"I don't know, I think that's the only way to talk to V," Tony said. "Unless he's manifesting."

"Venom, the tests..." Bruce put in, urgently.

"I think it's better they don't talk to V," Pepper said firmly.

Venom slowly slid under the table.

 

***

 

"Eddie, hey!"

"Hey, Linda." Eddie smiled at the other reporter as they shook hands and he sat down on his designated chair. "How are you doing?"

She shrugged. "Pretty good, considering I'm the point of contact for touchy Avengers press. I wondered what you were up to after the whole Carlton Drake thing, knowing you you'd have used it to get back in the business."

He shrugged. "I wrote under a psuedonym. Still do, actually, picked it back up after we moved to the Tower. Won't be sharing that psuedonym, though, sorry."

"That's fair. You're doing Avenger stuff now. Going on missions and all?"

"More meetings than missions, but we've been out once or twice."

She nodded. "So, I've got my recorder on, but let me know if you want to talk off the record, we can edit it out later. I get the privacy thing."

"Thanks. We'll try to avoid that."

She nodded. "How are you, by the way? You look kind of tired."

He sighed. "We are. Bruce has us on something I didn't even remotely follow. Trying to stave off nightmares. That's why the kid's here; we're not allowed to drive ourselves right now."

Peter waved from his spot. Linda waved back, then turned to Venom, "You have nightmares often?"

"More recently, yeah. One of the downsides of being practically unable to die is that there's a whole lot of shit we aren't meant to remember. During the whole Life Foundation fiasco, I was actually bleeding out with a metal pole right through my body before V connected with me again." He shrugged. "As Tony said, nightmares are part of the business."

"Oh, I'm sorry. That sounds traumatizing."

"It was, yeah. But, uh, we're working on it."

She nodded. "So, you go by Venom now, is that right? Can you explain that to me? Just because most other superheroes still use their name, right?"

"Right, well." Eddie sighed and V twined around inside him. It was comforting, though it was slow and sluggish. "So I'm actually hosting a - an alien in my body. Since it's not just _me_ , you know, not just Eddie, we prefer to go by Venom. We call him V, so Venom is like our... together name."

"And that's how you get your 'powers', as it were?"

"Exactly. The, the strength and speed and stuff, it's not - it's V's innate abilities, that's what happens when the - the symbiosis... happens."

"So it would happen to anyone who hosted... V?"

"Yeah. Yeah, exactly."

"So how long have you been with the Avengers? It's interesting that no one mentioned you before now."

"About two months now. And we really prefer to be out of the spotlight. Honestly, even at the Tower we sometimes feel like a lab specimen. I think the entire group watched us have our first physical."

"Wow."

"It was an interesting experience, let's put it that way. And they're great, really, but a large portion are complete nerds, right? So they can't help themselves."

She grinned. "Aren't the nerds just Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark?"

"And our intern." Venom looked over at Peter who smiled brightly. "Maybe not a _large_ portion, but large enough."

"And this is the same intern that was part of the incident on Friday?"

"Yes, yeah. That's Peter. He was there on a tour for his academic decathlon team. We're all really proud of him, you know? He's kind of been adopted by all the Avengers."

"Aww, that's so sweet. How did he get hired?"

Eddie shrugged. "That's Tony's domain. But he's super smart. Helps out on the Iron Man suits and everything. Way smarter than we are, top of his class."

She chuckled and Peter blushed. "So, what happened in the museum?" she prodded.

"Right," Eddie nodded. "Well, we were talking to one of the kids when V noticed some kid was bullying Peter. I think the kid pushed him and it set V off. V's not totally used to...having people around him, you know? Especially the way it is in the Tower. So he may have overreacted a little, but, other than being a little scared, the kid's alright."

"A little bruised?"

"Maybe a little bit."

She nodded. "So what do you say to rumors that you _eat_  people? This can't go off record, by the way."

"Oh, I figured." He sighed. "Well," he rubbed his neck.

**Just eat her**

_Really, V?_

"So you have?"

"Let's say our first period of adjusting to each other and V to human culture was a little rocky. V needs a certain chemical found in brains, so once we... worked together better we hunted, like, strays. We later found it in chocolate so we fended off that need by _constantly_  eating chocolate. Once we got to the tower Bruce identified the actual compound so we take pills every day and we're good."

"Wow. So you've _eaten people_?"

"Maybe a child molester or two," he said, trying for embarrassed. Or should he be traumatized? He wasn't sure. It'd been too long with V in his head.

"Live?"

"We have a lot of raw meat. Sushi's a favorite."

"We have a lot of organ meats in the tower," Peter said, derailing the interviewer who looked like she wanted to pursue that topic. "Venom made blood meringue chocolates and they were delicious. And organ meats are way cheaper than regular meats."

"Blood meringue?" Linda stared at Peter as Venom chuckled.

"That was actually pretty funny because we didn't tell anyone what it was," he said, chuckling. "You should have seen their faces when we mentioned it. We later got them with spleen rolls, but now they're always on guard before trying stuff so it's not as fun."

"So, you cook now?"

"Oh yeah. V watches a lot of the Food Network when I'm busy or sleeping, and naturally we need to try things out. We've gotten really good."

"The - the man eating alien watches the Food Network?" she repeated. "What shows does he like?"

"Worst Cooks is always a favorite. We also watch a lot of Rachel Ray and Gordon Ramsey - literally anything Ramsey does. I don't know if it's the accent or what. We went to his place in Las Vegas, BURGR, and we had a blast. We still have our menu from the visit, actually, a prized possession, really."

"Wow. Have you bought any cookbooks?"

"Of course. We had to get Rachel's, obviously. I wanted a baking book, but since Bucky does most of the baking, we let it go."

"Wait, Bucky bakes?"

Venom smiled. They'd have to thank Peter for the interruption later.

 

***

 

"So the interview looked pretty good," MJ said, looking over it on her phone. "The comments are about half and half."

"Yeah, but people have tracked me down so now my twitter has exploded," Peter grumbled. "Listen: _'Can you tell us what the Avengers are like at home?' 'What do you work on?' 'How'd you get hired?'_  and my favorites where people ask about ships. I've been verified since this morning and Mr. Stark follows me."

"What have you said?" Ned asked.

"Nothing, obviously. The Avengers' personal lives are none of the public's business."

"Hmm." MJ shrugged. "Except for Tony."

"Yeah, but Mr. Stark's always lived in the spotlight. Everyone else just really wants to not be noticed."

"I think if they did more personal things, people would... oooh, Peter. You should respond to some of these."

"What?"

"Humanize them a little. Right now they're some scary people that no one knows how to approach, but like look at the positive comments here; they're all about how much of a nerd Venom is. About their cooking and their favorite shows. Or else it's about them having nightmares and mental problems."

Peter took her phone to read through some comments and Ned stole his to look through his Twitter. MJ sent a glare at some people ogling them. They'd literally gone to the end of the field for lunch to avoid that.

So Peter was an intern at SI like he'd always told them, big deal. And he was friends with the Avengers. The Avengers were dorks anyway.

"Just do an ask on Twitter," Ned said. "Then you can choose the questions and answer the good ones."

Peter sighed. "I guess. Maybe they'll stop bothering me for a bit. Let's meet at my place then?"

 

***

 

_Peter @Pparker:_  Ok, ok, yes, I'm an intern at SI and I know all the Avengers. So, in honor of everyone believing me now, I'll answer some of your questions. #askPeter

_ILoveTheAvengers @miiiiiiiia:_  OH MY GOD! He's doing it. #askPeter Who's your favorite Avenger?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @miiiiiiiia_ that's easy, it's Thor.

_FasterThanSonic @FlashT:_  #askPeter how the hell did you get an internship?

_Cindy :) @sindi:_ #askPeter did Ned really steal a jet as a prank?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @sindi_ lol, yeah, he did. We stole the jet with Venom and Mr. Stark called and totally freaked out.

_Genius Billionaire @TonyStark:_  @Pparker, what do you think you're doing?

_STARwars @GAAAAAAA:_ #askPeter What do the Avengers do for fun?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @GAAAAAAA_ Ooh, this is a good question. When they're all hanging out they usually watch movies or play cards. They like to play fight and bet on who would win.

_Genius Billionaire @TonyStark:_  #askPeter PETER!

_ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri:_  @Pparker wait, does this mean I can follow you now?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @OfficialShuri_ OMG, YES!!!!

_Genius Billionaire @TonyStark:_  @Pparker #askPeter if you don't answer me, I'm calling May.

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @TonyStark_  Hi, Mr. Stark!

_Genius Billionaire @TonyStark: replying to @Pparker_  Who let you do this?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @TonyStark_  It's Twitter, Mr. Stark, no one has to let me talk to people.

_FasterThanSonic @FlashT:_  #askPeter holy SHIT, YOU KNOW THE PRINCESS OF WAKANDA????

_Genius Billionaire @TonyStark: replying to @Pparker_  I'm calling Pepper.

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @TonyStark_ wait, NO!

_FUCKtrump @9Olives: replying to @Pparker_  oh shit, you're in trouble.

_STUUUUCKY @tooExcited:_  #askPeter if you're still alive, can you confirm or deny Stucky for the fans?

_JUST DOO IT @Yoooooohoooo:_  #askPeter how u get an internship in hs???

_Suck On THIIISS @Deeznuts:_ #askPeter vengers no memes?

_Shushhana @just_shush:_  #askPeter Do you really work on the iron man suits?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @just_shush_ I do! I also help out with Spiderman's webs and other tech. :)

_ILoveTheAvengers @miiiiiiiia:_  #askPeter oh my god, you're alive?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @miiiiiiiia_ Yeah! Mrs. Potts called me and we talked about what I'm allowed to say. But I'm allowed to keep going. :) 

_ILoveTheAvengers @miiiiiiiia: replying to @Pparker_  yayyyyy!!!!

_Xx @Xfactor:_  #askPeter Have you ever seen the Hulk?

_Concerned @Leah11:_ #askPeter does it bother you to hang around with a literal CANNIBAL?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @Xfactor_  I haven't, but I have seen Dr. Banner!! It's super cool to talk to him and get to hang out in the lab! :)

_STUUUUCKY @tooExcited:_  #askPeter please let us know if Stucky is real. Please.

_STARwars @GAAAAAAA:_  #askPeter Have you seen Venom in alien form?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @GAAAAAAA_ I have! So cool! I also got to see their scans, they weren't joking about the whole team being there, but so worth it!

_Concerned @Leah11:_  #askPeter so it really doesn't bother you to hang out with a monster, huh?

_FUCKtrump @9Olives:_  #askPeter Can we please hear more pranks?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @9Olives_  sure! Our first prank was to rig Clint's arrows so they blew up with glitter. The next week Clint left spiders in Venom's bed. I think Venom just ate them, tho

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @Pparker_  mr. America put super glue on Mr. Stark's favorite cup and he was stuck to it for a few hours. so he convinced everyone to dress up in Cap America running outfits and show up to his morning jog.

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @Pparker_ It was worth getting up that early to see his face

_Cindy :) @sindi:_  #askPeter Do you really get to train with Black Widow?

_Bae @michaelwithaB:_ #askPeter Candid Avengers shots?

_Peter @Pparker: replying to @sindi_  I do! Sorry for everyone I didn't get to, but I have to finish my homework!

Peter looked at his friends. "Good?"

MJ nodded. "I think that's a good place to end. You got to snub Flash, you've talked about some Avengers stuff. Tony's tweeted more today than he usually does in a month." She shrugged. "Good things. Now just post life snippets regularly."

 

***

 

"These better fucking work," Sam groused.

"Of course they do. Would I send you out in non-working wings?" Tony asked, tightening one.

"Absolutely, if you didn't think I'd get seriously hurt."

"I'm devastated."

"Oh I'm -"

_"Boss? A man named Rex Strickland is here asking to speak with the Avengers. He mentioned Klyntar."_

Sam and Tony exchanged a look.

"FRIDAY, get him up to the debriefing room," Tony ordered. "And get the rest of the team there. Tell 'em it's about Venom."

There was a rush of movement after that, but soon enough the entire group had settled in the debriefing room with one Rex Strickland. Venom stood to the back, watching nervously - and tiredly. Everyone else was settled around the conference table looking at the man who calmly sat in front of them. He had grizzled grey hair and a scar on his jaw and neck that could have been burns of some kind. He was well built, with a no-nonsense kind of expression, leaning against his chair and his gaze settled on Eddie instead of the rest of the Avengers.

"Well, I guess it doesn't take much to get an audience with the Avengers, huh?" Rex said calmly. "Drop the right word... or maybe just at the right time, do you think?"

"Why don't you tell us what you wanted to say?" Steve said. He looked impassive, but Tony could tell he was on edge.

"Ya know, I think the only time something can stay buried is when it's done by the military. You ever get that feeling? You know what I'm talking about, 'Captain America', how many people have asked to use your blood to recreate the serum since you woke up? None, right? Cause when the military decide to bury a thing, they make goddamn sure it stays fucking buried."

Tony tapped the table. "Were you with the military?"

"I was. Got out while I could. What'd y'know of Project Rebirth?"

"That was my program," Steve said. "Made Captain America, got closed after that."

Clint made some notes on his paper, though half of it was covered with doodles.

Rex chuckled. "Wouldn't that have been nice? You're the only success though. I'm a survivor, but my friends, my friends weren't so lucky." He pulled out an old yellowed photo and pushed it across the table. Steve picked it up and stared at it for a long time before passing it to Tony's side of the table.

It showed five men, each with a symbiote over their skin. Venom never looked at it, just staring at the other man.

"You had a symbiote," Tony said, looking up at Rex.

"Yeah. Didn't get as chummy as those two though. There were meds to keep 'em more contained, and otherwise they would have been too hard to displace."

" **We don't intend to be displaced** "

Rex shook his head. "How much do you even know about that symbiote, boy?"

" **He is ours, Eddie is mine** "

"Ah."

"As Peter would say, this is dom culture right here," Clint said.

Natasha slapped him upside the head. "Do you have to?"

"Shut up!" Venom blushed. "Oh my god." V twined tendrils through their hair, almost petting his human.

"This is why we don't usually invite Clint to debriefings," Tony sighed. "If I'd been thinking clearer I would have modified the assemble order."

Clint wadded up his notes and threw them at Tony, who just stared at him as it bounced off his forehead.

"They experimented on other men," Steve said. "What happened to them?"

"They went insane," Rex supplied. "Their symbiotes went insane. The military put them on ice. Now they're going to destroy them. That's why I'm here."

"You want to save them." Steve met his gaze.

"They're good men. And it might help you find out what's happening to that one."

"What do you mean?" Venom asked.

"Nightmares? It started like that for them too."

"We'll get them," Steve said, resolve in every word. "Humans don't deserve to just be thrown away."

"Of course," Tony agreed. "Whatever it takes, Steve."

The rest of the meeting was more trite, getting the location and the rest of the details. Tony offered Rex a room for the night, and the man accepted. Tony hung back as everyone left, noting Steve's mood. He'd picked up the photo again, staring at it intensely.

"Steve? Everything alright?"

Steve looked up at him. "This could have been me," he said softly.

Tony nodded slowly. "Yeah. Super soldier, you know? I guess they're just viewed as another tool." He wondered if it was too late to get Bucky to deal with this. He didn't want to deal with emotions.

Steve nodded. "Do you think there are more? People who just wanted to serve their country, turned into hostages in their own bodies?"

"Uh." Definitely too late. "I don't know. Maybe. I mean, I doubt this was the only attempt... that's the thing about people, we're always looking for better ways to fight wars. I would know."

"Yeah. You know what I wish?"

"What?"

"Peace. I wish we could stop at some point."

"Yeah, well." Tony shrugged. "That's the price we pay, right? I don't think we can ever stop. We'll be in our eighties, or two hundreds in your case, and someone will need help and," he shrugged. "We won't know well enough to stay home."

"Yeah, probably..."

"And now we have to worry about aliens on top of stupid assholes."

Steve nodded. "I think I'll talk to Fury. See if he knows of any other super soldier programs. This... It's not something to be played with. These are real people with lives and families and... They're being turned into nothing but instruments of war. That could have been me. It _was_ Bucky."

"That's why I never went into the army," Tony quipped. "Listen, we'll get these guys. And we can ask Nat to look into finding any others. We won't leave anyone to suffer."

Steve met his eyes. "Thanks, Tones."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I feel like a lot happened this chapter, tf. And it's a lot of dialogue heavy stuff.
> 
> You guys get an extra scene in the author notes next chapter! because I wrote it and though it doesn't fit into the story directly, I want you to have it. :) 
> 
> Please leave a comment below! I love hearing from you guys. ::)


	4. Things Go Wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter. :) I have my notes up here because there's an extra scene at the end, as promised. 
> 
> For those of you who've read the comic, the monologue at the end will be familiar, but, like, it was a _great_ monologue. :P
> 
> Also, I don't know anything about cars, but I do know Old Town Road, so Maserati it is. 
> 
> Don't forget to leave a comment!

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means," Steve said calmly. "That you could be going insane and I don't need to worry about getting attacked by my own teammate while collecting maybe insane soldiers."

"I can't believe this. Tony!" Venom called to him as he walked by. "Back us up. You guys need us. We beat Cap so quickly he's going to be useless."

"Uh..." Tony paused. "No, sorry. We have sound cannons so we're going to be fine. You need to stay at the compound. And I have to get to a meeting."

"Since when do you go meetings?"

"Rude. I go when I need to."

Eddie shook his head as Tony left.

"So there," Steve said. "Go knit or something."

**Can we eat him just a little bit**

_How do you eat someone a little bit?_

**Just his liver**

"Stop it!" Steve snapped.

"Stop what?"

"You're thinking about eating me! I can tell."

"Only your liver. It should grow back, with your super soldier thing."

"No!"

"You don't think you're being a little selfish there?"

"I know what you're doing and it's not working. Get your frustration out somehow else." Steve stalked away from them.

"I bet Bucky would let us eat his liver!" they called after him, chuckling at the look he gave them.

Eddie sighed. Great. Now what was he supposed to do? Damn Tony for not backing them up.

**Let's go out**

_And do what?_

V pushed the thought, the feeling, of speeding down the streets at ridiculous speeds. It was incredibly tempting. Especially if they took one of Tony's nice cars.

Eddie headed to their room, putting on one of their nice leather jackets before a thought occurred to him.

 _Eddie:_  Are you joining the group tonight?

 _Spider Parker:_  ugh no. Mr. Stark said I shouldnt be up that late on a school night

 _NOT a pet:_  thats probably for the best. You skip too much class as it is

 _Spider Parker:_  thanks so much mj :/

 _Eddie:_  We don't get to join either. Want to go grab something to eat after school? We're stealing one of Tony's nice cars.

 _Spider Parker:_  ooooh sure! :))

 _Pet 2:_  are you sure about the car thing

 _Eddie:_  Did we, or did we not steal Tony's jet together?

 _NOT a pet:_  they have a point. Im up for it. Lets get ice cream

 _Spider Parker:_ Yessss! I love ice cream. :))

 _Pet 2:_ something tells me youd go for anything mj suggested...........

 _Spider Parker:_ ,,,, stop,,, bullying

Venom chuckled at their pets' antics. Naturally they'd shared with Peter the debriefing from the evening before. It was a matter of principle since their mission together, and then their prank war. They were a team.

And just now, they were a team going to get ice cream.

 

***

 

"You know I always believed you, right?"

Peter smiled awkwardly at his class mate. He didn't remember his name. "Thank."

"What's it like, being with the Avengers?"

"Uh, crazy. Very crazy."

"Do you think you could introduce me to some of them?"

There it was.

"Oh, wow you know, I wish I could but they're all like private people and I don't think they'd be all together at one time anyway, you know, they're all really -"

"Hey Peter." MJ came over and glared at the random student. "Are you done?"

They nodded and scurried away, glancing back at them frequently.

Peter blew out a breath. "Thanks, MJ."

"You need to learn how to deal with people, Peter. You're almost a celebrity now."

"Thanks," he said dryly. "I was hoping to forget that."

"How many was that?"

"Ugh, the fourth. At least the other three were just asking for information, not an actual meeting." Peter shook his head as they headed to meet Ned outside.

MJ shrugged. "Get used to it. You're an approachable access point to the Avengers."

"I guess. Hey, Ned."

"Hey! Everything alright?"

"Peter's getting harassed," MJ said. "Again."

Peter shrugged. "I'll deal. I'm just not used to everyone staring at me."

"I'm sure people will eventually.... forget. .." Ned trailed off because Venom was calmly waiting for them in front of the school, leaning against a _very nice_  Maserati.

They was drawing stares, it was, after all, one of the _Avengers_  in front of a high school.

Venom waved when they saw the three of them and Peter nervously waved back. Which brought him back under scrutiny.

"Hi, Mr. Venom!" Peter squeaked as they came over.

"You really chose a nice one," MJ observed.

"Yeah, I've already gotten a call from Tony about stealing private property," they shrugged it off and the four of them got into the car. "How was school?"

Peter shrugged, watching them use a tendril as a key. Clever. "Fine, as always. How's V?"

Venom sighed. "Agitated, but not as bad as before. Has Flash bothered you?"

"He's given me some looks, but so far, no."

"I don't trust him," MJ said. "But he may be too scared to touch Peter."

"Should you be driving?" Ned asked.

"Sure. We didn't take the tranquilizers last night, so we're fine."

"So, nightmares?" MJ asked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"You're speeding," Peter said tightly.

"Not by much."

"That's.. not true in the least."

Venom pulled up to the gelato place, giving Peter a look. "Alright, get whatever you want."

They went in and ordered, ignoring the stares. At least these people didn't know _Peter_ , but Venom wasn't being super subtle.

Venom spooned a bit of their chocolate bomb of a dessert into their mouth, V poking at the bits of brownie and chocolate chips in the ice cream. Peter was happily enjoying the birthday cake flavor with rainbow sprinkles. Ned had gotten lemon and orange sorbet, while MJ had gone for a nice and simple sweet cream.

"Peter, you should take a picture and tweet this," MJ said.

"Oh! Yeah, you're right!" Peter fumbled for his phone while Venom frowned.

"Why are you tweeting this?"

"So everyone found me on Twitter after this weekend, right? So we thought we could do some good PR with it. We did a Q&A yesterday and I think people really liked it, smile for the camera, Mr. Venom!" He leaned into the table and held out his phone.

Venom leaned in and smiled nervously as Peter took the photo. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Of course," MJ said. "People like to hear you talk about cooking and stupid stuff like that. The more human you are the better."

"We're not human, technically."

"That's why you need more humanizing than the rest of them."

"Posted!" Peter showed his tweet off with a smile. He'd captioned it _"What do aliens do when they can't go on a mission? Take their favorite intern out for ice cream, of course!"_

 MJ nodded in approval.

"I look stupid in that one," Ned complained. "Why didn't you tell me I looked so stupid?"

"You look fine!" Peter said. "If only I could tag -" Peter froze for a second, then looked at MJ, wondering if she'd followed his train of thought. She met his gaze, turned contemplative, then nodded.

"What?" Venom asked. "I can tell you're up to something. Stop eating my ice cream, V." The tendril that had been consuming the ice cream pulled back, but slowly.

"You should create a twitter, Mr. Venom!" Peter said excitedly. "It'd be awesome! You can post all the normal things you guys do!"

"Ha, no. Why do you think we don't do interviews, kid? We don't need people that close to our lives."

"The more people feel like they know you, the less they'll fear you," MJ pointed out. "I think it's a good idea."

"It's an awful idea! All our posts would be dumb and people would keep tweeting us telling us how awful we are. Don't get into this, V, you've never dealt with the internet."

"V likes the idea," Ned said. "Let him talk to people."

"That would _not_ humanize us, Ned."

"I think you'd be surprised," MJ said.

"We think you both are cool," Peter said, forcefully ignoring the fact everyone was watching, listening, and sneaking photos. "So would plenty of other people, give me your phone, I'll make you one."

"No. No, no, _no_."

"You're not doing anything else," MJ pointed out. "Might as well do PR."

V manifested next to Eddie's head, but small. Noodle form.

" **Outvoted, let us tweet** "

Eddie dropped his head into his hands, and V passed over their phone.

"Thanks, V." Peter quickly created an account for the two of them, V coming to watch with interest.

Eddie frowned, probably conversing internally, then rubbed his temple. "Why did you guys do this?"

"Post a photo of your ice cream, Mr. Venom. The people will like it. I'm also following you right now and I've tagged you in the photo," Peter said, handing back their phone. "Follow back. Ooh, I've already gotten responses."

Venom frowned and struggled with posting while Peter read some of the responses, confident Ned and MJ would be able to help the two out.

 _ILoveTheAvengers @miiiiiiiia: replying to @Pparker_  Oh my god, that looks like so much fun!! Wish I could join!!

 _PeterFan @PeterStan: replying to @Pparker_  Holy shit, it's actually Venom irl! Do you guys hang out a lot?

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @PeterStan_  We Are kind of the 'disaster bi clique' of the Avengers, along with Loki, Spider-Man, and @OfficialShuri, so yes.

 _Avengers Assemble @ho: replying to @Pparker_  most of that group aren't Avengers tho???

 _Iconic @Aaaaaaargh: replying to @Pparker_  wait. Spider-Man is bi?

 _VenomIsAwesome @VenomFan: replying to @Pparker_  Is that really Venom you followed?

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @VenomFan_  Yes! Follow them!

 _ConcernedAdult @Marge: replying to @Pparker_  should you be hanging out with an older man that often?

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @Marge_  Yeah, all the Avengers have kind of adopted me so I pretty much have... too many aunts and uncles at this point.

 _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Pparker_  What the hell, Peter? I'm obviously a functional bi.

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @OfficialShuri_  look me in the eyes and say that

 _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Pparker_  That's it. I'm flying over there. Tell Tony to ready my suite.

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @OfficialShuri_  wait, NO!

 _FUCKtrump @9Olives: replying to @Pparker_  why do you always do this?

 _Venom @VandEddie:_  Chocolate ice cream with brownie. Our favorite. [Image attached]

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @VandEddie_  iconic old person tweet. RT

"I told you it'd be boring," Venom muttered.

 _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @VandEddie_  omg, Venom, follow me back. The whole squad is nearly on here.

 _Venom @VandEddie: replying to @OfficialShuri_  We're following you. :)

 _Peter @Pparker: replying to @OfficialShuri_  time to get Loki a phone

 _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Pparker_  and Spider-Man a Twitter

 _Pepper Potts @SICEO:_  @OfficialShuri, @Pparker What do you guys think you're doing?

 _Peter @Pparker:_  oh shit

 _FUCKtrump @9Olives: replying to @Pparker_  TWICE! True disaster bi representation

"Oh shit, Pepper's gonna chew me out," Peter said.

"What did you do?" Venom asked.

Peter showed his phone to the group. "It might be the bi thing. Or suggesting Loki get a twitter."

Ned groaned. "What the hell, Pete? This is why we don't let you tweet on your own."

 

***

 

"Is Venom here?" Pepper walked into Tony's lab, feeling a sense of deja vu.

Tony looked up from the mess of wires he was constantly entangled in.

Pepper found it really cute.

"No. He took my Maserati and took the kids for ice cream."

"That was two hours ago. I know because they posted it on twitter. On _Venom's_  new twitter page."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Since when does Venom have a twitter?"

"Since two hours ago." She sighed and looked around. "Getting your suit ready for tonight?"

"Yeah. Adding the sound cannon. At least we know the symbiote achilles heel." Tony cleared a patch for her to settle on.

She sat there and smiled at him. "You'll be safe?"

Tony smiled back and took her hand. "Always. Otherwise you'd be all worried and angry."

She shook her head then leaned down and kissed him. "Stay back and use the sound cannons, alright? I don't want you risking taking them on. You know how they fight. It's terrifying."

"I know, Pep. Promise I'll come home safe and sound. We _all_ will."

"Good. And Shuri's coming over tomorrow. We were talking about this whole Twitter thing and I accidentally let slip that Venom's having issues and she decided she had to show up."

Tony groaned. "Oh god. I hate having the three of them together."

"Apparently they are the 'disaster bi clique', according to Peter," Pepper chuckled. "Just make sure no one dies."

"I'll try not to murder them, Pep, I promise."

 

***

 

"Everyone ready?" Tony checked the suit, but the diagnostics all checked out.

"Primed and ready to go," Clint's voice came in his ear.

"Ready," Bucky agreed.

"Alright. Here come the trucks. Remember, no casualties. Just get the guards out of the way."

"We're all aware this is totally illegal and against the Accords, right?" Nat confirmed.

"Yes." No give in Steve's voice.

"Cool. Let's get this bread."

"Nat! Stop using Pete's lingo!" Tony facepalmed.

"Big mood, Tony," Bucky said.

Tony turned to the super soldier. "I will murder you."

"They're here, let's go," Steve snapped.

The group got into motion, cleanly diverting the two guard cars. Tony - in a black stealth suit - dropped onto the front of the truck holding the men, and it careened slightly before stopping, the men inside visibly scared. Then Nat got to them, knocking them both unconscious.

As far as ops went, this was fairly smooth. Tony got off and went to join Steve at the back to pull open the truck.

The doors exploded outwards. Tony covered Steve, taking the brunt of the wave of heat and shrapnel. Four symbiotes climbed out of the truck, eyes red.

" **მიიღეთ დაშორება ლ** "

"Fuck."

"What the hell is going on?" Nat over the speakers.

"Don't come over! Get out of the -" Tony jumped backward as one of them lashed out with a tendril. He saw Steve making a break in the other direction.

" **ვუფრთხილდეთ** "

"Sure wish we knew what they were saying," Bucky muttered, joining them.

"Shut up, Snowflake." Tony shot a blast at the men, not aiming to kill any. They recoiled and rejoined as a group.

"Alright, FRI -"

"Holy fucking _shit_!" Steve's voice crackled over the intercom.

"Language!"

"Really? Now?" Steve complained at the veritable chorus that answered him.

Tony agreed with him because what was happening was wholly unexpected. The four men had gone together into the truck, which had filled with a bright light. Then the bodies of the men - symbiote free - were tossed out like so much garbage.

Tony took one second to gape, then put out his hand. "FRIDAY! Sound cannon, _now_!"

He braced himself as the cannon fired off at the truck, which groaned under the assault.

The truck exploded. More than that. The street cracked under his feet.

" **ღმერთი მოდის** "

Tony gaped as a giant winged... _thing_  flew out of the alley into the night, flames reflecting against the sleek symbiote black of its wings.

"Well, fuck," Bucky breathed. "Did everyone else see that?"

"Boss?" Clint said tentatively. "We may have just fucked the fuck up."

 

***

 

**Want to eat someone, gorge on their insides**

_Not now._ Eddie scowled at the screen. Were they going crazy? He wasn't sure. Potentially. It was worse today, but maybe that was because they'd skipped the pills and hadn't slept, and had more nightmares. It'd be hard to say.

They checked the time, watched the minute hand tick over to 12:01. Maybe that was the cause of the agitation. The group was still not home. He sipped their smoothie. It was made with chocolate syrup and blood, but it also just kind of looked like dark chocolate, so they didn't feel awkward with it in the living room. Really, it was -

They bolted to their feet at the sound of the Avengers arriving and hurried outside. Grim looks abounded and there were no rescued men.

"What happened?"

"Is Rex here?" Tony asked.

They nodded. "Inside."

"Good." The group headed in and Venom followed. "That was not a simple rescue op. There was something else in that truck. It took the other symbiotes and killed the men."

"And then it flew away. Like a giant ass symbiote dragon," Sam finished.

Venom felt their breath catch. "It stole their symbiotes?"

**Rex**

"Rex!" Tony scowled at the man who had appeared. "You have some explaining to do and you better do it now. Something was in there with those things, and they were all red and I want a fucking explanation!"

Rex froze, then bowed his head. "I - I thought it was dead."

Eddie took a breath. _No._

"Sit. Explain," Tony ordered.

Rex sat. "It began in the war. My last battle as a human."

Tony looked incredibly uncomfortable, which was at least sort of amusing. They highly doubted any of what was coming was going to be in any way amusing.

"We were pinned down by a sniper we couldn't find. We'd wasted what little ammo we had on rifles that didn't work. I was 19 years old.

"With no cover and air support too far away, we were out of options. So we dug. We dug in the filth to stay alive. With every shovelful of dirt one of my friends would die next to me. I've never been so scared in my life."

"This is why I never joined the military," Tony muttered. "They just left you there?"

Rex shrugged. "We'd wandered into a trap. We found the remains of the last unit that died same way we would - digging our own graves."

Everyone had sat down to hear the story. Eddie felt a growing dread in his chest.

"Now I wasn't no kinda hero," Rex said gruffly. "You can get that outta your head right now. I did some horrible things over there, for all I know the man gunning us down had his fair rights to revenge."

"No one here would blame you," Bucky said. "We know what it's like."

Rex nodded and sighed. "I knew we were gonna die. And I ain't Captain America, so I knew I wasn't gonna get to the shooter in time. But I could soak up some bullets, and every one that hit me was one that wasn't hitting my friends, another second for them to find cover. That was supposed to be the end of my story. I remember laughing as I looked in the sky and saw the air support we had prayed for. I remember feeling relief as I closed my eyes and waited.

"And then all I felt was napalm." Rex sighed and scratched his neck. "I say all that to say _this_ : when the men who would graft my symbiote onto me and turn me into a monster came with their... offer... I wasn't in a position to refuse.

"To this day, I don't know why they chose me. I'm nothing special. Maybe that was the point."

"You gave your life for your men," Steve said. "Whatever you did over there, it's a sign of a hero."

Rex shook his head. "You're too idealistic, Captain. I ain't no hero. But I was desperate. They gave me just a tiny piece of what they had..." he trailed off, looking out of the room. "I thought I'd seen the devil in the jungle. I thought I'd seen horror in the war. But I learned that day I'd never seen true darkness.

"I woke up drowning, couldn't breathe. And then I learned I didn't need to breathe anymore."

Everyone glanced at Venom and they ignored them, focused on the story.

"Even with that tiny piece, I felt like I could break the gods over my knee. I saw everything in that moment, the universe and the tissue that binds everything, moving like tendrils through the void. I knew at once that it was ancient, older than us, older than the stars.

"I saw glimpses of where it had been and - and horrors it had unleashed upon countless civilizations it had driven insane, and then devoured. And just when I thought my mind would collapse from the - from the enormity of it all, it awoke. I _felt it_ , and it spoke.

"I didn't know what the words meant then, but I do now because I've been hearing them screaming in my nightmares ever since.

"God is coming."

V felt tight with anticipation beneath Eddie's skin, and he rubbed his wrist to try to calm him.

"God is coming," Bucky repeated, looking at Venom. "That's what you hear in your dream."

"Guess it's magical, then," Wanda said. "You should have called Loki, Tones."

"I am _never_  willingly calling Loki," Tony snapped. "So there's some ancient symbiote dragon the military decided to dig up and experiment with. Now it's loose."

" **This isn't just a dragon** " Venom said. He felt V rise closer to the surface, roiling with anger and anxiety and fear. Their vision shifted to the grey, sharp palattes of V's eyes. " **You should have let them die** "

"I didn't know it was still alive!" Rex snapped.

"What do you know about it? Is this it? The nightmare you spoke of?" Tony asked.

" **You have no idea what -** "

_"Boss, there is an issue that may be related to this."_

A screen turned on with the local news, and there it was. The Grendel, searching the buildings. Flame and devastation followed in its wake.

"Fuck," Steve said. "This is why I don't trust governments anymore."

"What, this in particular tipped the scales?" Bucky asked.

Venom missed Steve's response, eyes narrowing in on a small red and blue figure swinging into the screen.

**Our pet**

_We have to go._

Eddie didn't fight the red that clouded their vision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **EXTRA SCENE**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  _Oh my god @shefuckindead:_ No cops at pride, just #disasterbiclique
> 
>  _New York PD @NYPD: replying to @shefuckindead_ :(
> 
>  _Cats @Felina: replying to @shefuckindead_ didnt loki highkey try to take over new york?
> 
>  _PunMaster @Riley: replying to @Felina_ no he LowKey did it
> 
>  _LokiStan @Looki: replying to @Felina_ he was mind controlled ok?
> 
>  _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Felina_ ok, but you don't have all the facts
> 
>  _Cats @Felina: replying to @OfficialShuri_ ??
> 
>  _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Felina_ Thor loves him
> 
>  
> 
> **DM**
> 
>  
> 
>  _@Pparker:_ hey, MJ, do you want to wear the spider suit for a day
> 
>  _@MJ:_ do i need to tell you all the ways the clique showing up at pride is a bad idea???
> 
>  _@Pparker:_ ... but if everyone else wants to go, will you do it? Otherwise theyll know im spiderman if im the only one not there
> 
>  _@MJ:_ this is a trap because i know theyll all agree because all of you are morons
> 
>  _@Pparker:_ :)))
> 
>  _Disaster Bi @Pparker:_ No cops at pride, just #disasterbiclique
> 
>  _New York PD @NYPD: replying to @Pparker_ :(((
> 
>  _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Pparker_ rt
> 
>  _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Pparker_ Now we just need to bully Venom into it, and contact the other two
> 
>  _New York PD @NYPD: replying to @OfficialShuri_ :((((((
> 
>  _ILoveSpiderMan @Spidey: replying to @OfficialShuri_ im crying, is this actually happening?
> 
>  _Disaster Bi @Pparker: replying to @OfficialShuri_ Spider-Man says he's up if everyone else is going.
> 
>  _LGBT @NewYorkLGBT: replying to @Pparker_ oh my god. Yes please.
> 
>  _Yeethaw @Wylie: replying to @Pparker_ But you'll only be at one!!! :(( we want #disasterbiclique here in Austin too!
> 
>  _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri: replying to @Pparker_ I'll contact Loki
> 
>  _Genius Billionaire @TonyStark:_ @OfficialShuri @Pparker Don't you dare contact Loki, he's NOT staying at the tower!
> 
>  _Disaster Bi @Pparker:_ @VandEddie are you guys up for pride?
> 
>  _Venom @VandEddie: replying to @Pparker_ You could text us privately.
> 
>  _Disaster Bi @Pparker: replying to @VandEddie_ #disasterbicliqueatpride is now am internet phenomenon mr. Venom, the internet wants to know
> 
>  _Genius Billionaire @TonyStark: replying to @Pparker_ How are you all going to go to pride???? You're gonna give me grey hairs, kid, just go with your friends like a normal person.
> 
>  _Disaster Bi @Pparker: replying to @TonyStark_ these are??? my friends???
> 
>  _Venom @VandEddie: replying to @TonyStark_ just for that, we're gonna go. No cops at pride, just #disasterbiclique [Image of Venom as Eddie with a little bi flag]
> 
>  _New York PD @NYPD: replying to @VandEddie_ :((((((((((
> 
>  _Genius Billionaire @TonyStark: replying to @VandEddie_ @SICEO What do you think of this?
> 
>  _Pepper Potts @SICEO:: replying to @TonyStark_ let the kids go to Pride, Tony
> 
>  _Disaster Bi @Pparker: replying to @SICEO_ thanks Mrs. Potts!
> 
>  _Venom @VandEddie: replying to @SICEO_ wait...
> 
>  _ActualPrincess @OfficialShuri:_ @Pparker @VandEddie Loki's in
> 
>  
> 
> **DM**
> 
>  
> 
>  _@MJ:_ Alright, come over so I can practice in the suit
> 
>  _@Pparker:_ :))) <33


	5. Backstory, again

Peter swung through the streets towards the dragon. He had no idea where it'd come from, but he hadn't thought twice about going after it. The Avengers could very well be busy right now.

He had to figure this out.

He touched down a building away from it, taking it in. People had run from the area already; it was easy to see it coming and these were office buildings in the middle of the night. It seemed to be searching for something, tearing apart the building it was on with care.

Peter checked his weapons. Webs? Check. Tasered webs? Check. Everything acid proof? Check. How was that going to help?

" **საოჯახო** "

Peter turned to see Venom drop down beside him, red not only in their eyes but woven through their body.

He didn't stop to think before he flung himself at Venom, arms tightening around him. Some instinct told him the red was very very bad, and the probably stupid over trusting part said that he was in no danger from Venom regardless of it. So he held him and tried to pull him back to the light.

"It's ok, Mr. Venom, I'm fine," he told him. "Everything's going to be fine, Mr. Venom, and - and Ned's ok and MJ's ok, everyone's ok and I'm here." He kept talking, trying to reach him. He wasn't sure how long they stood there before Venom's arms tightened around him.

" **Spiderling** "

Peter looked up and beamed. Venom's eyes had reverted to the usual perlescent shade. "Hi, Mr. Venom! Did you come to help me take this down?"

" **Go home, pet, this is dangerous** "

"Don't do that to me! We're a team! Come on, I bet we can get this guy and you definitely can't do it alone either, if I can't."

" **This is an ancient beast** "

Peter shrugged. "That's fine." Venom pulled away from him and went to watch the dragon.

" **Do you carry flames** "

"Uh, I have some taser-y webs?" Peter went to join them. The dragon had moved to another building.

" **Distract only** "

"But - hey!" Peter cursed as Venom jumped over the lip of their building. "Fine, fine. I'm distracting." He shot a web and swung off the edge of the roof.

He saw Venom streak down the side of the building and the dragon turned towards them, screaming in its ancient tongue.

Peter tased it, swinging to his next point. It screamed again, though Peter was sure he was just irritating the dragon, and not really hurting it. Venom was trying to use burning bits of the building against its hide. Peter tased it again, the web making another patch on the beast.

Maybe he could tie it down.

Peter threw a web at the head and tethered that to a building. He swung to another point as the dragon pulled the web free, complete with parts of the building he'd attached it to. The drywall flew through the air towards the beast.

Venom stabbed it with - well, themselves, sharp knife like claws digging into the symbiote, which caused it to grow tendrils of its own to toss them back like a doll.

Venom flipped in the air and landed in a crouch on the side of a building, quickly leaping back in the fray, going after the more delicate seeming wings.

Peter tased it, then shot a web onto its head. The other web still hung from the head of the beast, so the web _worked_. He just needed a better place to connect it to.

Peter swung, still holding one end of the head tether. It jerked its head and he flew onto a nearby roof, letting go and rolling to break his fall like Nat taught him. They needed the rest of the Avengers, stat.

What they did _not_  need was the news chopper that approached. Journalists really had no sense of safety.

Explained Venom.

Peter ran and jumped off the building, needing to get away from the dragon.

The expected strike never came and he saw Venom clinging to the dragon's neck, biting into the symbiote. The dragon writhed and screamed and Peter hoped the acidic saliva was doing something. Venom slipped slightly and dug their teeth into another spot, but Peter could see the first acidic hole filling in at incredible speed.

"Mr. Venom! This isn't working!"

Venom looked up, hearing them over the ruckus.

" **Go for help** "

The dragon took advantage of the distraction to toss Venom into a building.

Peter webbed the head a third time and swung away. Going for help seemed like a sound idea, but he couldn't leave Venom here. Venom crawled out of the drywall as Peter sent a web at it.

" **GO** "

The beast... shifted, its body like slime given shape, the head turning into a long tentacle as another head grew to bellow at Venom standing in front of it with a burning torch.

V melted off Eddie and the man just caught the torch again with both hands. He looked so small next to this monstrosity but he just stared into its eyes.

"V, cover me!" Eddie ran towards the beast, V enveloping him at the last moment, just as the dragon engulfed them both.

Oh fuck.

 

***

 

" **ჩემი შვილი** "

Eddie fell to his knees as V screamed in his head. He felt him tense at the sound of his god, the singing from the symbiote ringing inside their mind.

_Don't listen to him!_

" **My child, come to me.** " The figure in front of them beckoned, smiling at them. He was created from the tendrils of the dragon symbiote, writhing together to form the shape of a man, all blacks, greys and a splash of red. His face was wan and though it bore a remarkable likeness to humanity, the tendrils were visible in the muscles it created. His smile was full of sharp teeth, but it wasn't unnaturally wide like V's. He smiled at the helicopter flying ever closer, visible through the threads of his being.

" **How small the beings here.** " Tendrils grew to grab it. " **How fragile.** " They watched in horror as he crushed the vessel and the people inside.

V wound around him, the red clouding their vision. Eddie didn't fight as it gave them the strength to rush at the figure.

The figure smiled. " **How beautiful you are.** " It held up a hand as they neared. " **Stop.** "

The force of the order threw them back, V recoiling. The red fell from his vision once more and V trailed out of him.

"What? No!"

_You don't have to listen to him!_

" **You cannot hurt me, young one. This is merely a vessel, but I am far, far away from here. Now, come to me, child,** " the figure ordered, and Eddie could feel V slowly disconnecting from him.

"NO!" Eddie grabbed at the tendrils he could see pooling on the ground.

_Fight him, V, please, please fight him!_

**... sorry, Eddie...**

_Don't you dare!_

V sounded ever further away.

"V! DON'T YOU DARE GO!"

" **Your host is screaming child. Does he not know who he faces? I am Knull, the Lord of the Abyss. The god of the symbiotes. You can not disobey.** "

V pulled the last tendril out of him and Eddie felt the emptiness like a blade through his gut.

"V! Come back!" He watched him trail towards the figure.

" **All is well, child,** " Knull soothed. " **Your god is awake. And when this Grendel is complete, when I find its missing parts, it will come for me and break me from my cage. And then I will finish what I began. I will rid my dark kingdom from the invasive light once and for all. And I will start with Earth.** " He took V into his hands.

Eddie grabbed for something, _anything_ , and when his scrambling hands closed over a small stone he threw it at the figure.

The vessel of Knull.

Knull turned towards him and oh god, he was going to die again. He knew it before the knife sharp tendril pierced him through, before the pain exploded through him, before his mind churned out endorphins to try to manage his imminent death.

He coughed and a drop of blood, richly red, fell onto the retreating arm of the annoyed ancient god.

And then there was fire and chaos.

 

***

 

"Damnit, why aren't you healing?" Clint stared at the broken expanse of Venom's chest, trying to staunch the flow somehow.

They were _supposed_  to heal. Clint's job description had been simple - go in, get Venom to safety, return to fight. Everyone had a job. Tony, Steve, Rhodey and Bucky were trying to fight the dragon. Nat and Wanda were making sure Peter didn't charge back into battle.

Simple jobs. Not heal-someone-actively-bleeding-out jobs.

"Venom!" Clint saw a black mass creep over the edge, and his breath caught as it sped over the expanse and into Eddie's skin. Eddie closed his eyes, and when Clint raised his hands he saw black tendrils pulling the skin closed, healing everything below.

"Damn," he whispered.

Venom coughed up some blood and sucked in a breath before sitting up.

"You come back from the dead pretty quickly," Clint said, still in awe.

Venom shrugged and wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand and, after a second's hesitation, licked it clean. Clint wrinkled his nose.

"Gross. I mean, I get the not wasting thing, but -"

"Shut up, birdbrain," Venom said, their voice not even hoarse. "We're starving. Do you know how much energy it takes to heal that? I'm really tired of dying."

"How many times?"

"Twice. And honestly, once is more than enough for anyone."

"Don't disagree. Once we get back you can eat the entire pantry. Or that." Clint pointed at the dragon that was currently unharmed but in retreat.

"Don't think we could manage that," Venom said softly. "We need to go back home. Regroup. Kill Rex."

"Oddly enough I'm with you." Clint tapped his earpiece. "Guys, come back. Don't think you can follow it into space."

"No! I'm just about to yeet this fucker out of here!" Bucky complained.

"What. The. Fuck?" Tony asked.

"He's yeeting _himself_ out of here," Steve said back, tone totally serious.

"You guys are too old for this!"

" **He'll be back soon** " Venom stood up as everyone made it onto the rooftop.

"What do you know?" Steve asked.

Venom shook their head. "Back home. We'll carry Clint."

"Wait -" He didn't get to finish because a fully transformed Venom had already picked him up and started running. He wrapped his arms around the alien. He'd just try not to get dropped.

 

***

 

Tony touched down, gently depositing Steve, before Venom streaked onto the landing. Rhodes landed with Bucky. He'd showed up after the dragon had appeared - Tony loved Rhodey dearly, platonically, but he did not involve the military when skirting very clearly laid out rules.

Venom dropped Clint - which was rather funny - and melted back into their human form as they marched into the house shouting, "Rex!"

The group quickly followed as those who'd stayed home hurried to greet them.

Venom walked right up to Rex and stabbed him through the chest.

"Holy shit!"

"I didn't think you meant it literally!"

Venom pulled out of Rex, seemingly deaf to everyone else and they all watched in open mouthed shock as the wound healed itself. "You're part of the Grendel. He's still looking for you."

Rex put a hand to the new expanse of skin. "Yes. If he finds me... I swear I didn't know it was still alive. It'd been so long..."

"Of course it was still alive! _You're_  alive, you idiot!"

"Does someone want to stop and explain?" Tony asked. "For those of us who are human?"

Venom looked at the group. "It's long and complicated." They turned back to Rex. "You've been hanging around the tower a while, haven't you? That's why I lost control."

"Yes... This is it, then. He is back."

"He is _not_  back! That is nothing but a vessel and it was defeated once and we can do it again."

"Who?" Steve demanded. "Who is it? Somebody want to make sense of this?"

Venom continued to ignore everyone, but Rex did too so maybe it was some stupid symbiote thing. They held out a hand to Rex and their eyes turned white with the symbiote beneath, black tendrils covering the outstretched hand. " **We are stronger together** "

Rex stared at the offered hand like it meant something monumentous, then slowly put his own hand into theirs. And then...

"What the _fuck_?" Tony managed.

Peter repeated quietly "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

Rex must have been pure symbiote because he... lost his form, his human shape folding in on itself as he _melted beneath Venom's skin_. Black tendrils wrapped around them as the new symbiote settled in one human. How much symbiote could fit there?

Venom rubbed his temples, and apparently it was too much symbiote to look human because they settled with tendrils winding around the outside of Eddie's body.

"Holy shit you're old," Venom breathed.

"Stop! Right now!" Tony was proud his voice wasn't a high squeak. "Explain! I don't care how long the story is I need to hear it. Who. Is. That? What is a Grendel?"

"I'd like to hear it too," Bucky said.

"Are you recording?" Venom asked, looking at Peter.

Peter tapped his phone. "Absolutely. I'm showing this whole explanation to Ned and MJ. And maybe Shuri."

"Send it to me too," Bruce said quickly.

"You guys are idiots," Nat said. "FRIDAY will have the video in much better quality than Peter's phone."

"Don't disparage Stark tech, Spider-Mom," Peter said.

Nat looked positively touched, which was all well and dandy, but -

"Talk. Now. Please."

Venom sighed and crossed their arms. "Well... back before the universe was created, there was nothing. Just... endless nothing."

"Do we have to go back that far?" Clint asked.

"Yes, hush. We said it was a long story, and we'll skip the not as important parts to speed things up. So, in the nothing, in the void before time, Knull existed. I'd conjecture he's a... a part of the void, the emptiness manifesting a consciousness." Venom shrugged. "Something like that. We're not philosophers, shut up, Rex. So, when the ancient gods came into being, not like Thor and stuff, but larger, stronger. They created the worlds and the stars and seeded it all with life. Hence all the... life."

"I can see why you're a journalist."

"Shut up, Clint," Tony ordered. "I want to hear this story."

"You're saying there are actual gods?" Steve confirmed.

Tony rolled his eyes. Could they just let him finish?

Venom shrugged. "Kind of. Very powerful... beings. Well, Knull was not a fan of everything intruding on his black nothingness, so he forged himself a sword. The first symbiotes which he pulled from the abyss and gave life. Ever since, symbiotes have been scared of the sound of Knull's hammer... obviously, that doesn't work against Knull himself, hence your, uh, sound cannons.... being useless."

"So you started your life as a sword?" Bucky asked. "Just confirming."

Venom scowled. "No. We're post Knull. Rex was created back in ancient times, but still post sword."

"Ok, why did he stop making swords?" Tony asked, trying to get back on track.

"Well, a person only needs one, Tones" Clint pointed out. "Aren't you supposed to be the genius?"

"I'm going to murder the next person that interrupts, I swear to god."

"Right," Venom said. "So the gods were understandably upset when he started killing them -" ("Understandably," Peter muttered) "- So they exiled him to the abyss. While there he turned the symbiotes into, well, symbiotes instead of straight weapons. Knull could connect to any and all symbiotes. He was **our God**. He can pilot symbiotes without touching them. When he was on Earth... in the Grendel, he was hit pretty hard and his connection to the Hive weakened. The symbiotes connected to the people around them, and they're very... impressionable. People brought thoughts of honor and justice and doing good. The symbiotes mutinied."

"And Earth wasn't destroyed," Steve surmised. "You've been dreaming of his last days."

"The Grendel's last days," Venom corrected. "Knull isn't dead. How do you destroy the abyss? That's when the symbiotes created Klyntar. It's a cage. That's what the word means, actually. The Klyntar are Knull's cage. And, apparently, this symbiote, the Grendel, is still as connected to him as ever. If it gets free of Earth... we have no idea at the state of Klyntar's defenses. None of us have been there in hundred of years."

"So... you've known all this the whole time?" Tony asked.

Venom nodded. "V was connected to the hive at the beginning of his life."

"And you didn't think to share?"

"Didn't seem relevant."

"Ok, I kind of get it," Steve said slowly. "But here's what I _don't_  get. Klyntar rebelled, right? They got all... moral having and all. So why were you guys trying to destroy the Earth when you got here? Not to mention some of your other habits."

Venom blushed and looked down. "That's, uh, a little personal, don't you think?"

"No, it's a good point," Bruce agreed.

Tony wanted to tell them to shut up. Did they need another sorrowful backstory? They'd already had one tonight.

Venom rubbed the back of their neck. "Symbiotes are... very imprintable... Especially their first time imprinting..." They paused. "But it's not your fault babe," he soothed. "V was, uh, kidnapped... and his first host was..."

"Crazy?" Tony asked softly.

"Genocidal, actually," Venom confirmed. "The Kree... they tried to take over the galaxy and thought to use symbiotes to, uh... you know..."

"I'm sorry."

Venom shrugged. "When the other symbiotes found him he was... pronounced corrupted. And exiled. Guess it's Drake's luck he ran into a - a penal colony, I guess."

"How long did you spend among other crazy symbiotes?" Tony asked, trying to figure it out.

"Hundreds of years." They shifted. "So, uh, yeah... we haven't been the best example of Klyntar, but we're... getting better. Being better."

"You are," Tony affirmed. He went over and clapped his shoulder. "Hey, at this point you're practically heroes."

Venom rolled their eyes. "Let's not go that far."

"So, the Grendel, how do we kill it? What cut him down last time?" Steve asked, moving past the moment. What else was there to do? They were heroes, and the world was in danger yet again.

Venom took a breath and the tendrils moved around him. "Last time Thor hit him with his hammer. But we think fire should do it. If we can hit him with a strong enough blast."

"Well," Tony started. "I can gather our - wait. FRIDAY, access the old files, my father's works. Keyword: nitramene."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy! Second to last chapter. :) I am officially going to finish another story, which just kind of feels good.
> 
> Let me know what you think! As always, I love hearing from you. :)


	6. Explosions Solve Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burn it with fire

_You guys are going to give me a headache._

Eddie rubbed his temples. It had been fine while they ate, the whole compound waiting for Stark to make whatever it was he was making. But now that they had free time, it was just very... loud.

 **No headache, you don't need to hear him,**  V said, fixing something in his brain so the throbbing went away. There was also another shift which Eddie couldn't explain, but which he could guess the meaning of, especially when Rex began to swirl in irritation across his skin.

_Babe, please don't cut him off. It's weird to feel but not hear him._

**It is too much for a human**

_I'm adjusting, that's all._

**Don't adjust, he's leaving when this is done**

Eddie felt Rex manifest off his shoulder. " **You are too possessive of your host.** "

V manifested off his other side. " **Bitch** "

"Can we _please_  keep internal conversations internal?" Eddie pleaded.

They slowly melted back into him, glaring at each other the whole time. But V undid whatever he'd done.

"So, Mr. Venom?" Peter came over to him. "Is Rex like integrated into your brain like V? Did V have to give up some connections or..."

"Are you serious, Pete?" Clint asked. "I don't know biology, but I am dead certain V hasn't given up a single connection."

Eddie blushed lightly. They felt a little off balance in general after the confession. Like they would look at them differently after learning they were a mistake instead of simply following their nature. Peter seemed intent on treating them like normal - and he'd cut off the recording before the confession. Appreciated. "Uh... no, Rex integrated into V, not me."

"Knew it," Clint said, and he gave Venom a smile.

They smiled back nervously. But Clint didn't seem to care about his past either.

"Could we get a scan?" Peter asked, even more excited. "I'm sure we have enough time to get one done."

"Peter...."

"Come on, Mr. Venom! What if we never get this chance again? Scans are harmless!"

 **The kid's really excited about this,**  Rex said. **Let's just do it.**

_Ugh, no, if we get down there they'll never let us leave._

**Too much time in labs,**  V muttered.

**Labs aren't inherently bad.**

"Please, Mr. Venom?" Peter asked.

"Leave them alone, Pete," Clint said. "They don't have to subject themselves to scans if they don't want to."

Peter sighed. "I guess."

"We can make you truffles to make up for it," Eddie offered.

"Oh my god, yes!" Peter beamed. "Once we get rid of this dragon, we can make truffles together! Shuri's coming over tomorrow anyway. Or today, I guess, it's nearly morning anyway, oh my god! She's going to be here in a few hours!"

Venom smiled. The unwavering confidence was nice. And they liked Shuri. "Oh, perfect. We'll make a day of it then."

"Yeah!"

"Alright, we're ready to go." Tony entered the living room and everyone turned to him. He was gently cradling some glowing spheres, each about the size of a fist.

"Here's the plan. Flyers and flyers _only_  -" Tony looked around at the group. " - are each going to grab one of these. These are really fucking dangerous, so nobody break one."

"I can fly!" Wanda put up a hand. "Do I get a grenade?"

"Yes, this one's for you." Tony handed it off.

"You better not leave us out of this," Venom said. "It's our battle."

Tony snorted. "Figured you'd say that." He handed him another globe.

Venom inspected it curiously. It was made of glass - probably tempered - and other than a button on the top it was perfectly smooth.

"Honeybear." Tony held out another one to his long time friend. "And I suppose Sam gets to come along." The second to last one went to him.

"Why can't I go?" Peter asked, pouting.

"Absolutely not and because I said so."

"I can keep up with the dragon!"

"No."

"What about the rest of us?" Steve asked. "We're just supposed to stay here and knit?"

"Yeah, and I expect a scarf when we get back. So, dragon team, here's the plan."

"They even have a cool nickname. This is so not fair," Peter muttered.

"We get the Grendel somewhere isolated, pelt it with these. They will explode, and then they will implode. They were actually accidentally tested in the forties, so I know they work. Trigger them by pressing the button on the top - I want them to work even if that bastard catches them. Once you throw them, get the fuck out of the way, you won't believe the blast radius on these assholes."

"So where do we go?" Venom asked. "Ocean?"

"Shit." Rhodey looked at the explosive in his hand. "Your dad was crazy, Tones. I heard about these. Thought he got rid of everything related to them."

"I'm surprised they haven't been used since," Wanda said. She turned it over in her hands. "Usually weapons like this don't stay buried."

"Yeah, no one else could come up with it, and even my dad had some limits," Tony said. "But I heard about it and figured it out as a challenge. But yes, the ocean seems like the best place."

"Great. We'll bother the dragon until it decides to kill us like annoying bugs, lure it over the ocean, and pelt it with explosives," Sam summarized. "Sounds like a neat plan. What could go wrong?"

"Mr. Wilson!" Peter gasped. "You can't say things like that! You're practically asking the universe to mess with your plans!"

 

***

 

"Alright, dragon at 12, everyone ready?" Rhodey asked through their com line.

" **We are ready** "

Tony was a little surprised the microphone worked, honestly, but he assumed they just held it in the right position. He'd had to take a second when the nitramene had vanished _into_  the symbiote, or symbiotes, he supposed. They were visibly larger now that there were two of them.

"Great," Tony said. "Annoy, but don't hurt. We don't want it leaving again."

" **He won't. He needs us to complete his form,** " came through the speaker, and it sounded more like Rex.

"So the plan's foolproof," Wanda surmised. "Unless the ancient god actually _catches_  you guys."

" **Don't worry, Scarlet. We've got this.** "

"Worst case scenario, I guess I can save your guys' asses," Sam allowed.

"Oh, the weakest avenger?" Rhodey asked. "If anything happens, fly to a safe location, birdie, while me and the rest of the group take care of things."

"I'm ready to yeet this thing into oblivion," Wanda confirmed. "Whether by bomb or magic."

Tony approached the dragon, ignoring the chatter on the line. There was always some inanity - you had to deal with constantly being in life and death situations somehow - and he needed to focus on this Grendel. It noticed them pretty quickly and dove at them as they approached. Tony blasted it quickly with the repulsers, then flew back just a tad, towards the ocean.

The Grendel roared and attacked. Venom lobbed giant pieces of broken concrete at the beast, and its eyes quickly fell on the last piece of itself.

It was a cakewalk to lead it to the ocean after that. Tony felt bad about the buildings in their way, but it was New York - they were never too far from the ocean and surely most people had disaster insurance by now. The most important part was that people weren't harmed.

Once they reached the coast, Venom jumped into the water, slipping through it as smooth as a shark. The dragon followed, and they kept pace, blasting it with whatever they could to keep it thinking they had no other plan.

"Now!"

Tony pressed the button at Rhodes' order and lobbed the nitramene at the ancient beast. He felt a little bad that they'd have no chance to discover more about it, but it was just a tiny niggling at the back of his mind. The important thing was keeping everyone safe, and this was a menace on a galactic scale.

Wanda actually yelled "YEET!" as she threw.

"What did I say about Pete's lingo?" Tony snapped as he flew out of the blast radius.

"I'm a millenial, I know memes on my own!"

When he glanced back he saw the dragon look around suspiciously.

Then it exploded.

The nitramene blew fire in all directions, pieces of symbiote flying out from the center and among the blast he heard the screams of a dying god. The blast tore through the water itself, for a second creating a crater in the ocean.

And then it imploded.

The air whipped past him as it sped to fill the vacuum the blast created, bringing water and flame back in at astonishing velocity and for maybe one millisecond the whole of it stood in an emptiness, before crashing into the ocean.

He flew back, finding Rhodey with him.

They stopped above the blast point, but he could see nothing, even after the water calmed, except a grey ash swirling beneath the surface like a dark cloud. He looked up at Rhodey.

"Done?"

"Think so. Venom, you alright down there?"

" **Fine, we're heading to shore** "

"That's quite a weapon, Stark," Sam said.

"Yeah. Not something I'm planning to hand out, if you're worried," Tony assured.

"Very useful for aliens, though," Wanda said. "Keep it in your back pocket."

Tony shook his head. "When my dad created it, it was one of the most horrific weapons he could imagine. Now it pales beside some of this generation's bombs. Crazy how times have changed." He shifted and flew towards home, the others beside him.

They landed next to Venom on the edge of the water, staring out. He was in human form, and there were no tendrils visible on his skin.

"Rex gone?"

Venom nodded. "Decided to leave before anyone noticed. Didn't want to risk getting caught by the authorities and potentially being under our restrictions."

Tony went to stand next to him. "Yeah... we won't share anything. Shit, I don't think even our rescue mission was approved, was it Platypus?"

"Eh, I'll have the army draft something for you once I get into work, if they haven't already," Rhodey said with a dismissive shrug. "Won't you miss being with another Klyntar?"

Venom shrugged again. "Maybe a little, but it was also very _loud_. But we'll find him again if we need to."

"Oh?" Tony asked.

"We Klyntar always know when someone else is around. Talk across distances..."

Tony frowned, considering this.

Wanda snorted. "You got his number, right?"

"We got his email, thank you very much."

Rhodey chuckled. "We need to get you a more secure phone." He patted Venom's shoulder and turned to head back.

"Oh, so you have a twitter now?" Wanda asked as she and Venom also turned to go back.

"Uh, yeah?"

"And you're not following me?"

"You have a twitter?"

"Of course I have a twitter," Wanda said. "I'm twenty years old! Why are you guys constantly surprised I'm not as old as these old farts?"

Sam caught Tony's eye. "You fell for it, didn't you?"

Tony shifted. "Well... they do have -"

"Dude, if they could sense other klyntar they would have known about Rex from the start. Man, for a genius, you're a real dumbass sometimes."

"You know I can update your wings, right?"

Sam waved dismissively as they followed the others. Heading home.

 

***

 

"So there's an angry god of the void out in space right now that wants to devour the universe?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much the long and the short of it."

Shuri punched Venom in the shoulder. "I can't believe you didn't say anything!"

"Me neither," Peter said, sipping on his hot chocolate. "It's so cool!"

Venom rubbed his shoulder. "To be fair, we didn't think there was any situation where the information was necessary. Unless we were all about to die, of course."

"It doesn't have to be necessary," Shuri argued. "It just has to be interesting!"

"You won't get through to them," Peter said sadly. "They don't understand the joy of scientific discovery."

"It's not exactly a discovery -"

"You're talking about the birth of the universe!" Shuri looked at Peter, who shook his head. He didn't understand Venom's passivity towards the subject either. "I can't believe I missed it and Rex by six hours!" Shuri groaned and let her head fall dramatically into her arms and Venom caught her cup before it could fall to the floor and brought it back securely. Another tentacle held their freshly made truffles.

"I'll call you next time," Peter assured. "And besides, a good portion of our fight got broadcasted."

"I did see that," she grumbled.

"You wouldn't have seen it up close anyway," Venom pointed out.

"Actually, I thought it was really cool," Peter said. "You know when the Grendel yelled at you and V like -" he made a hand motion. "Woosh, and you just stared it down like nothing and then -" the hand moved in the opposite direction. "Bam! You were all covered again? Amazing footage. People love it." He paused, then said softer, "I wanted to go to the funeral of the newscasters, but Tony said I couldn't blow my cover. He's covering all expenses, though."

"They would have wanted to go that way," Venom assured. "Especially filming a famous piece, talk about cred."

"I appreciate the journalist perspective," Shuri said. "But I think it's also V's perspective and I know he doesn't care."

Venom shrugged. "Probably both. But they knew what could happen. Anyway, we've gotten a lot of weird messages since then."

Peter tried to shake the melancholy off. He couldn't save everyone, and though it ached, he'd have to put it next to all the other people he couldn't save. He drank his hot chocolate to give himself some space. Venom wouldn't understand, and he didn't begrudge him that. Maybe it was better not to care.

"What kind of messages?" Shuri asked.

Venom shuddered. "Apparently they're called 'thirst tweets'."

Peter choked on his drink. "What?"

Shuri cracked up.

"Yeah. Someone messaged us and they were called 'Venom what that tongue do 666'. What am I supposed to say to someone like that?"

Peter chuckled at the name.

"Nothing. I hope you've said nothing."

"We're staying off social media for the moment. Especially after someone sent us to tumblr." They wrinkled their nose.

"Oh my god," Peter gasped. "What have you seen?"

" **Things that can never be unseen** ," they said flatly, and the other two burst into laughter.

"Holy shit!"

The three of them looked down to find Tony staring up at them, craning his neck. "What are you guys doing up there? Shuri, how do you even _stick_ to the ceiling?"

"I made pants that stick to anything. I mean, except themselves, that would have been a whole mess," Shuri explained.

"What about your hands?"

"I can pull them off, don't worry, white boy."

Tony considered them, and Peter took a drink from his sippy cup. He shook his head.

"At least you're not messing around in the labs," he said as he walked away.

"Oh," Peter said, staring after him.

"Peter," Shuri admonished. "Did you do something in the lab?"

"I may have forgotten to turn something off..."

"Disaster," Venom muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Another story done. :) Hope you all enjoyed the ride as much as the first one.
> 
> As of right now, I have no idea what I'm going to write next. I have a vague idea for disaster bi clique, but I also want to do some time travel with Agent Carter because omg, you guys, I love her so much. Anyway, whatever's going to happen will need to wait until I restock my meds like I've been putting off too long. 
> 
> Leave me a comment if you liked it! Let me know what you think. :)


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